Outcast Mask
by Couch Tomato
Summary: A Shy Guy goes on a mistake adventure finding himself in a race to control the world...
1.

Outcast Mask

_Scene 1: Abductions_

Scene 1, Chapter 1 – Freak

Hey-Ho shot up at the alarm. 7:00. _That was good, I needed the shuteye. But how can I shuteye if I am a Shy Guy? _Roommates gathered up and groggily went to eat breakfast. The homeless shelter was nice – it had beds, shelter, things that Hey-Ho needed. But it wasn't right. _I need a real home_.

Hey-Ho skipped breakfast like he usually did. To him, breakfast would only serve as an excuse to be late for school, which he deeply loathed. School almost started, breakfast wasn't needed. He picked up his backpack and walked out of the building. No one said goodbye.

As Hey-Ho was only a few blocks away from school, Mushroom Middle School loomed in the distance. _Why do I bother to go here? _It was that time again — the exact time of day where nothing could go right.True to Hey-Ho's predictions, some snotty fungus walked right past Hey-Ho, knocking him down into the mud. Not a sorry or excuse me.

No sooner had Hey-Ho got up, four fungi bullies on roller blades started circling him. _Predator and the prey…_The leader started laughing and sneering at him. "Hey! Look at the wimp behind the mask! What, are you afraid to show what you look like? I bet you only have a face _only a mother would love_!"

"Only a mother would love! Only a mother would love!" chanted his lackeys.

"I don't have a mother," muttered Hey-Ho as he suddenly realized his mistake.

The grin on the gang leader's face grew wider. "No mother, eh? That means… you… have a face that _no one would love_!"

"No one would love! No one would love!"

Hey-Ho could only stare at them in despair.

"Yo, school's almost starting," said one of the lackeys.

"Fungusberg's gonna be pissed."

"Yeah, let's go, maybe we can plant that stink bomb in time."

"What about this face freak?"

"Ah, deal with him later. He's too pitiful for us to even waste our time on."

The gang skated off laughing. Just then, a hand helped Hey-Ho get up. It was Mario – hero of the Mushroom Kingdom. _If only I could impress Mario or something. That would be great. But I'm only this loser being picked on._ "Thank you."

"It was-a no problem! You should stand up to those bullies, you know."

"Uhh…"

"Well, maybe I can help you. My mother always said life was like pasta."

"Uhh?" _Who cares about pasta? What does pasta have to do with what I'm dealing with!? For all I care, it only makes him fatter than he already is._

"See, doesn't that help?

"Yeah…" _Right_.

"Mumamia! I'm late for my pasta! I'll see you later! Just remember my advice!"

"Dan?" said Mr. Fungusberg, reading names from the attendance list.

"Here."

"Kinopio?"  
"Here."

"Hey-Ho?"

…

"Hey-Ho?"

No response.

One of the gang members piped up, "Mr. Fungusberg, it seems that Hey-Ho is currently unaccounted for." The rest of the gang started snickering.

"Very well then. Chunky?"

"Here," called out the gang leader.

When Fungusberg finished the attendance, he paced around the room discussing his plans for the day. As he droned on by the door, it burst open thrusting the poor teacher onto his chair landing on the stink bomb that Chunky planted. A loud fart when off and the whole class started laughing. Hey-Ho, who was the one who opened the door, was totally grave.

Fungusberg's face was bright red, slowly turning purple. "Late again, Ho-Hey!? And I bet _you_ deviously planned that stink bomb! That's _it_! I've had enough of this! Hee-High, I'm sending you to ISS!"

The gang couldn't control it anymore as they started laughing maniacally. Fungusberg didn't care as he wrote his letter. "Go down there and stay there for the rest of the day!"

The door slammed behind Hey-Ho as he left the class. He crumpled the note in his hand. _No, I'm not going to ISS_. _Actually, for all I care, I'm never coming back to this school again!_ He dashed back to the homeless shelter to grab his belongings.

Croco was brilliant. That was his perception of himself. He stole so many precious items in Moleville, it was incredible! He was going to be richer than the wealthy Wario! Hiding in his secret base of operations in Moleville, he slowly counted his treasure.

A chilly wind swept past Croco, stunning him. "Probably the mountain air."

The door slammed open, and in it stood a dark silhouette of Mario. It wasn't quite Mario though. There was no cap with an M, except there was a metallic hat that seemed to represent a hawk, with a beak sticking out. Two long triangular rods stuck out on the two sides. The hair was black. He didn't wear overalls; instead he wore black armor. The shoes were metallic, and its tip came to a sharp point. A dark cape flailed with the wind. Creepiest of all, his eyes were cold, and his gaze was set on Croco.

"If you came to steel my money, Mario, then you're not the hero people portray you to be!"

The Mario impersonator stood still glaring at Croco.

"Go away! Leave me alone!"

The dark figure raised his hand facing Mario, revealing a satin red gem-like object implanted in his palm.

"Gaaaah! You're not Mario!"

Scene 1, Chapter 2 – Escape

That day, an enraged Hey-Ho packed up all his belongings and got ready to go on a pointless trip. At least he didn't have to live his life around losers like Fungusberg and Chunky. He gathered up all the equipment he need by means of buying (with the little money he had) or by salvaging: spare rotor blades, a bob-omb, a rope, and a map of the world. Some old hobo also sold him a broken down jetpack that would work just as fine as his copter. He also noticed brand new titanium blades at a store, but it was extremely expensive. He'd keep a mental note of that. That night he was planning to sneak by the guards and head into Kero Sewers.

After Hey-Ho left the class, Mr. Fungusberg was back to normal. Chunky has taken the hall pass and had been away for 20 minutes and counting. Fungusberg started to get annoyed. "Before we start learning on how to solve 1 + 1, does anyone know where Chunky went?"

"Duh…the bathroom, I think…" said TJ, one of the gang members.

"Well, no one takes 20 minutes in the bathroom!"

"Uhh… that's true."

"Damn! Something's not right. I'm going to go to the office about this. No one better do anything while I'm away."

Night came. It was the perfect cover for Hey-Ho while he snuck out of the Mushroom Kingdom. He could just walk out, but he wanted his absence to be unknown. Instead, he found some foliage that blocked a secret exit out of the Mushroom Kingdom. On the other side was a warp pipe that lead into the dungeons of Kero Sewers. Hey-Ho popped out his copter blades and sliced and diced the weeds and vines until it was a clear path. Looking behind him, he saw no one watching; knowing that he was unknown, he hopped into the warp pipe.

Unknown to Hey-Ho, a mysterious figure was watching him on top of a tree. He jumped down and went into the warp pipe.

When Hey-Ho popped out of the warp pipe, he realized that this was the forbidden zone of Kero Sewers. People said bad things happened here. All he needed to do was find an area where it's blocked off and slash a way through. As he searched, he found an abandoned lab. Curiously, he decided to head inside. It was as though some voice told him to go inside. _Go inside. Go inside. _Though, no sooner had he found it was he ambushed.

"STOP IT RIGHT THERE PUNK!"  
"DON'T GO A STEP FURTHER!"

A couple was getting married, and it was Chef Torte's job to make the best wedding cake that there could possibly be. Torte and his assistants had already created the top layer, but it was tradition to start gloating for a long time.

"Ahhh! It was beautifique! Magnificent! A masterpiece! I praise my brilliance!"

The other chefs started dancing blissfully. However, their dancing was interrupted by a metal shoe stepping on the cake.

"Noooo! My masterpiece is in pieces!" cried Chef Torte.

The dark figure who somewhat resembled Mario grinned and laughed. He then spoke in a cold voice, "Sorry to interrupt your little hoedown, but Chef Torte has a date with destiny…"

Scene 1, Chapter 3 – Unwanted Attack 

** **

Hey-Ho stopped dead in his tracks. _Go inside_. Suddenly, a fireball was launched at Hey-Ho, barely missing him and exploding next to his foot. He got back to reality and saw an ice ball zooming toward him. Quickly he used his jetpack and jumped high.

The two assailants revealed themselves by stepping out of the shadows. They were two snifits. One of them wore a red robe, green shoes, and a flame imprinted on his robe. The other wore a cyan robe, green shoes, and a snowflake imprinted on his robe.

The red one talked first, "Well look who the cat dragged in?"

Then the cyan one, "What brings a worthless piece of crap like you to The Lab?"

Hey-Ho popped out his copter and got ready for battle. "Who are you? What do you want from me? And what's in that lab?"

The cyan one answered, "Well, since you're gonna die, I guess I'll tell you now. I'm Cicle and my brother here is Torch. We're the Thermal Bros. and we're not gonna let anyone through under Dr. Schizo's orders! Got that punk?"

"Forget the intro bro, let's just kill him now!" No sooner had Torch said that, he fired a fireball from his oversized mouth. Hey-Ho dodged and charged at Cicle with his rotor spinning.

"What's he trying to do—tickle me!? Hahahaha!" Cicle shot an ice ball directly at the rampaging shy guy. Hey-Ho, unable to dodge it, got blasted by the freezing cold ice. It was so cold that Hey-Ho turned into an ice cube. _I still live._ The Thermal Bros. laughed at the ice cube standing before them. "I can safely say that he's dead."

_I have a chance. I can do it._ Hey-Ho was alive and fine. He started vibrating, which made him slide toward Torch. He picked up speed and began to chase the fire freak.

"Ahhh! He's not alive! Get him off me! Get him off me!" Cicle only laughed, but then he had no idea on how to help. Hey-Ho was sliding between the two brothers. "Damn you!" Running out of ideas, Torch launched a fireball, burning up the ice around Hey-Ho. _Good. I'm free._ Torch was even more frustrated now. "C'mon Cicle! Let's nail him now!"

The two bros launched balls at Hey-Ho, who could then realize their patterns. Immediately he used his jetpack and copter to dodge the incoming fireball and ice ball. The two projectiles missed Hey-Ho, but passed over each other heading straight to the opposite brother. Torch and Cicle were too busy laughing to realize their mistake. Torch turned into an ice cube, and Cicle caught on fire.

Cicle stopped, dropped, and rolled to get the flames off his body. Hey-Ho saw that there was still one left and fired his copter blades like a boomerang. Cicle immediately saw the incoming blades and ran for his life. "Curse you! We're getting out of here!" He ran to Torch and pushed his frozen body along with him. "Just remember: We can't be beaten! We're _androids_!"

_Androids!? Why does that sound familiar?_ Hey-Ho decided to proceed into the lab.

Jonathon Jones relaxed on his ship. "Arrgh. Today was a fine day me mateys." The shark pirate has gotten a hold of the Nintendo Gamecube, and that's all he liked to do.

Out of nowhere, the ship shook. A frantic pirate ran to Jonathon Jones. "Captain! The ship is sinking! The ship is sinking!"

"What!? How!?"

"A hole got punched of the ship! We don't know how!"

"Argh… Get all our treasures and get them on the rafts. Don't forget me Gamecube. Argh…"

"What about you captain?"

"I can survive underwater. I'll see ye later. Argh."

"Aye aye."

Jonathon stood at the bow of the ship, and watched as it sank slowly into the depths of the sea. "Argh. A captain must go down with the ship."

Time passed, and the ship hit the ground. A dark man stood on some coral and grinned. "Today is your day, Captain Jonathon Jones…"

"Argh… Today was not a fine day… ARGH!"

**Scene 1, Chapter 4 – Origin**

Hey-Ho entered the abandoned lab. _I fought hard to get in here. This better not disappoint me. But I have a feeling it won't… _The lab was dark. In the corner he saw 5 coffin like things. All of them were relatively small—his height—except for one that had "SPCR-4" written on it. It also looked like it had been recently opened. The others were SLSH-1, TRCH-2, CICL-2, and DRSF-3. On the other corner he saw blueprints.

He decided to check the "coffins" first. SPCR-4 had a tape recording next to it. It would be best to listen to that. He put on the headphones and hit "play."

"Specter… Or Dark Mario as you may be called. You are my greatest creation. You are the ultimate source of power. You are unbeatable. I am Dr. Fungenstein. I created you—you, who cannot fail."

_Cannot fail…_

"You are receiving this message because I am currently away in the Mushroom Kingdom sabotaging supplies for the lab. You must know that everyone has a purpose—a goal in life."

_A purpose. A goal. What is mine?_

"_Yours _is to obey me and help me plague this world. Together we can be unstoppable! Yes, we will spread out to all parts of the world. From Bowser's Keep to the Mushroom Kingdom we will conquer.

"But there's a true goal I must pursue. If a person is able to go to Star Haven and sacrifice seven worthy souls to the star, you may be granted one wish. You are to help me retrieve seven powerful souls so that I can have everlasting rule over this world.

"You may question the other android containers you see in this room. They are all previous models. TRCH and CICL, or Torch and Cicle are my two soldiers. I cannot reveal DRSF to you now. The other, SLSH, or Slasher, is an old an worthless model. It was no good and I decided to destroy it. Unfortunately, he found out about my plan to destroy him and ran away. Who knows what happened to him now."

_Slasher._

"Now, Dark Mario, go out and destroy for me! My destiny awaits! I will dispatch soldiers to wrest control of the places you have terrorized."

The recording ended.

_I understand now. I had no goal. I never planned on having one. Now I know. My purpose is to DESTROY DARK MARIO!_

Hey-Ho decided to view the blueprints he saw earlier. He saw Specter, Torch, and Cicle. Specter was most important. He had to know everything about him, so after reading through his amazingly powerful and destructive statistics and abilities, he backed the blueprints in his backpack. Then he came across SLSH-1. He wanted to know who this failure was. It was a Shy Guy. A copter was built in. _It can't be. Can it? I don't eat. I don't sleep. I survived Cicle's blast. I am… an… android. _

King Nimbus was reunited with his son, Mallow not long ago. He missed him so much, that he decided to spend some quality time with him. That would be great. It was three o'clock. Mallow should be all dressed now. The king walked to Mallow's room and opened the door.

"Hey, Mallow, let's go—" He was cut off when he saw his son limp in a stranger's hand.

Dark Mario glared at King Nimbus. "Don't worry. You'll see him later… in the Afterlife! HAHAHAHA!"

**Scene 1, Chapter 5 – The Cult of Incognito**

**_Have you ever remembered those misfit Koopas that were sent to labor in your castle dungeons? Recently, they've disappeared. The Shy Guys and Snifits who were under allegiance to us also disappeared. It's strange. We were hurt most when the pipes that were dominated by Piranha Plants have been taken over by enemy Pumpkin Plants. I've found out that they have all banded together to form something called the Cult of Incognito. They haven't done anything yet, but I'd be wary of them._**

**_ _**

**_-Kamek to Bowser prior to the release of Dark Mario_**

Hey-Ho was shocked that he was an android. As he thought about it, it wasn't that bad. If he weren't an android, he would've been killed before. He quickly gathered his thoughts back together and decided to continue. There wasn't anything of importance left in the lab, so Hey-Ho took off and found a pipe that led to the Forest Maze.

A mysterious figure noticed that Hey-Ho left the lab and decided to investigate things for himself.

The green warp piped popped out of the ground and shot Hey-Ho onto the ground. "Hahahahahahaha!" Hey-Ho heard mad laughter behind him. He turned around and looked at the pipe. A vicious Pumpkin Plant had emerged and began to fire sharp leaves at Hey-Ho. _I thought Piranha Plants were supposed to attack from pipes. _Hey-Ho dodged and popped out his blades. They started rotating slowly, then in no time, picked up speed and started spinning rapidly.

"Eat this, you freak of nature!" Hey-Ho charged, cutting up all the leaves. The Pumpkin Plant then became scared and tried to hide back in the pipe, but Hey-Ho was too fast. The blades sliced the Pumpkin Plant into oblivion. A Piranha Plant popped out of the pipe. It looked quite vicious. "Hissssssssssssssss… I would normally try to kill you… Hisssssssss… but sssssssssssince you sssssssssssaved my home, I'll thank you. I'd give you sssssssssssssssomething, but I don't think I have anything of interessssssssssssst," hissed the Piranha Plant.

"No problem."

Hey-Ho walked on in the forest and saw a Goomba. The Goomba, being the stupid idiot that it was, charged at Hey-Ho. _This is a nice time to do the Mario_. Hey-Ho jumped on the Goomba. Nothing. He looked down and saw that he was standing on the Goomba, which then proceded to bite Hey-Ho. "OW! Enough games!"

The blades started spinning, and Hey-Ho brutally ripped up the poor Goomba. _Damn! I'm too light!_ "Hey Shy Guy!" The Piranha Plant was calling Hey-Ho. He went back to the pipe and the plant.

"I saw that Goomba skirmish. That reminded me that I had something that you would probably be interested in." The Piranha went back into the pipe and fetched two marigold shoes. "Stomping shoes. You'd be able to stomp those Goombas easily." The pair of shoes was the same color as Hey-Ho's shoes.

"Thanks a lot!" He put them on and began to dash out. Then he ran back. "Ummm… can you tell me how to get out of here?"

It was an hour after Hey-Ho got directions from the friendly Piranha Plant. He saw the exit and was ready to procede to Moleville. "Hey you, who are you?"

Hey-Ho turned around. It looked like a wooden doll with a blue hat and a blue cape. "Wh-who are you?"

"I asked you first."

"My name is Slasher. I'm on a classified mission."

"Is that so… and do you work for the Cult of Incognito?"  
"The what?"

"I guess that means no. My name is #@%*(#(*@&%(@%(*@&%*(@&#%#, but that is impossible to pronounce for you to pronounce, so just call me Geno. Anyway, I am a guardian of Star Road, and I only use this body on this world. Lately, I've witnessed that there are three powers of evil that are aiming to take control of the Wish of the Seven Stars. Are you familiar with that?"

"I think so. If you gather up the seven special stars scattered on this world and gather them together, you can make a wish."

"Correct. I've traced them to the Cult of Incognito. The Cult of Incognito is a cult where renegade Mask Koopas, Shy Guys, Snifits, and others try to take over the world."

"A cult has to have a leader. Who is it?"

"Dr. Schizo, A.K.A. Dr. Fungenstein. He's called Schizo because he likes to talk to himself."

_DR. FUNGENSTEIN! Is this a coincidence I'm living in?_

"What are the three threats of darkness?"

"Dr. Schizo, the Thermal Bros, and the one who calls himself Dark Mario or Specter."

_This is becoming an even bigger coincidence_.

"Each of them are incredibly dangerous and will do anything to accomplish their goal. If you are truly good, then you _cannot let them get their hands on the seven stars_!"

"That is something that I can live up to."

"Then do it, Slasher. I have my own path to take to bring down the empire of Incognito." Geno walked away and melted in with the shadows.

Bowser was snoring loudly on his throne forming bubbles. Kamek stood at his side staring at him queerly.

Four Sledge Brothers were sitting next the entrance playing poker. The door slammed open. Bowser woke up and saw the intruder down the hall. An evil and chilly air swept into the room. The four Sledge Brothers halted their game and stood up ready to attack. "It's Mario! Get him!"

"It doesn't look exactly like Mario to me."

"It doesn't matter. All plumbers are a threat to us!"

They all hurled their large sledges at the solitary Dark Mario. Dark Mario scoffed at this foolish attempt and caught one of the sledges in his hand. "To show I mean business…" He crushed the sledge with his grip. He proceeded to ignite three brothers out with fireballs.

Bowser and Kamek watched the whole thing and were slightly shocked. The fourth hammer brother was scared now. He pulled out another sledge, but Dark Mario dashed forward with incredible speed and smashed the sledge. Then he kicked high at the brother's neck at knocked his head off. Now Bowser and Kamek was scared.

"He's not _Mario_!"

Dark Mario pulled out a translucent red cube from his pocket. "Say hello to your friends." Thirty seconds later, an incredibly high and bloodcurdling laughter filled the whole castle.

**Scene 1, Chapter 6 – Mario's Shadow**

The Arena was a massive arena built in the Mushroom Kingdom where battles were hosted annually. The competitors fight, but no one is supposed to die or get severely injured. After all, the mushroom people were decent people.

Luigi and Toad sat in the announcer's box. Mario was standing in the center of the arena. Luigi spoke first. "Mallow has been late for fifty-five minutes and counting. We will postpone the tournament if we have to wait five minutes longer."

Five minutes passed and a mushroom went on the field to deliver the news. The trademark chill swept into the arena. A fog also swept into the arena. The mushroom was one foot away when it suddenly went limp. Mario turned to ask what was going on. "What is-a going on-a here?"

The fog cleared, but the damage from Dark Mario's blight still penetrated the souls of the thousand spectators in the arena. Dark Mario stood there tightly gripping the dead mushroom's neck. He has a wicked grin on his face.

Waluigi was sitting in the audience. He, like everyone else was shocked. "Unbelievable-a! Who in the world is-a he?"

The usually silent Dark Mario spoke, "I wish to battle you."

Mario replied rather shakily, "I'm only scheduled to fight Mallow."

Dark Mario's cocky grin widened even more. From his pocket he took out his six-sided cube. On every side except one there was the limp figure of Dark Mario's victims. He twisted the cube slowly showing the fear-stricken face of Croco, the defeated face of Chef Torte, the miserable face of Captain Jonathon Jones, the angry face of Mallow, and Bowser, who wasn't limp. The enraged turtle king started slamming on the cube with combined feelings of fear and hate. "'Tis an absorption cube. I can absorb anyone I want with it, but for now… I'm interested in you."

Mario was obviously shocked but he decided to take this challenge for the sake of the Mushroom Kingdom. "I'll accept the challenge."

"Ahh… very good. Let me just remind you that you are obviously no match for me, and I'm far superior to you." Dark Mario's still had his cockiness.

Luigi jumped in from the announcer's box. "It seems Mario has accepted the stranger's challenge! Let the battle begin!"

Mario began the match by landing his hardest blow into Dark Mario's face. Dark Mario didn't even budge. In response, Dark Mario tripped Mario and landed a blow to the overly sized stomach. Mario fell down with tremendous pain.

"Tell-a me… before I go down… Who are you and what do you want with-a me?" gasped Mario.

"I am Specter," Dark Mario replied coldly, obviously refraining from using the name that most people called him, "My mission is to grab you and the six other chosen ones to sacrifice."

"Sacrifice what?"

"I can't tell you."

By then, Mario recovered. He grinned slowly. "That was all I needed to know." He took out a Metal Cap out of his pocket and put it on his head. Instantly his body was encased in metal. "Never thought of that, did you?"

Specter didn't anticipate this. His cocky grin disappeared, and he decided to get serious. He pulled back a punch and let it go at Mario. Mario stuck his hand out and caught the punch. It didn't faze him. As he was blocking Specter's attack, he used his other fast and connected it with Specter's head. The result was Specter being launched ten feet in the air and landing with a loud thud.

Specter slowly got up. Blood oozed from his face. He scowled, but that didn't do anything as Mario rushed forward and landed another uppercut to the chin. After landing on the ground again, his head started throbbing. Mario ran over and put one hand on top of Specter's head. Then, using the other hand, let out one of his hardest punches on Specter. Specter flew into the ground with tremendous pain. Blood was dripping down his whole face.

At that moment, Specter caught everyone by surprised. He began with a little chuckle, then laughter, then a maniacal and insane laugh, until it reached his bloodcurdling, incredibly evil laughter. Mario was dumbfounded. Specter stood up, still wounded and laughed, "You think you know everything you need to know about me… Well there's a lot more to me than you can ever know!"

All of a sudden, the skin on Specter's face peeled away to the side revealing an inside of muscles, broken blood vessels, metallic bones, and wires for nerves. His eyes were metallic optics, and his brain was an artificial component with many wires coming out of it. Everyone in the arena realized he was an android.

Specter pointed to himself so everyone could witness. As blood constantly gushed out of his organic blood vessels, some wiring came out and started zapping the blood vessels. They all immediately started clotting up. The wires continued zapping until the clot was gone and the blood vessels were like new. The skin folded back and covered his face again. He used his arm to wipe away the remaining blood. If you never knew Metal Mario delivered such destructive blows to him, you'd think he's as good as new.

Specter gloated, "I'm a high class android. The best of the best. Dr. Schizo designed me without any flaws!" The android dashed in and grabbed Mario's neck. He started draining Mario's energy through the red jewel in his hand. Mario quickly twisted out and started breathing rapidly to get his energy back.

Mario wasn't determined to give up that easily. Nor was he determined to fall into the same trap again. He took off his metal cap and put on his vanish cap. Instantly, Mario disappeared from the naked eye. Specter wasn't bothered at all. He raised a finger a shot a fireball at Mario.

"Ow! Mumamia! How did you see me?"

"Infrared, stupid."

Again, Mario tried a different strategy. It had to be a good one if he was to defeat this mad android. He took off the vanish cap and put on his infamous wing cap. "Let's fight flyer with fire!"

With three jumps, Mario flew up into the air and above the arena. The audience "Oooh"ed at the show. Again, Specter smirked. His body began to rise into the air. Mario was stunned. "How did-a you do that!?"

"Easy. My cape is made of everlasting P-Wing material. I told you. Dr. Schizo thinks of everything!"

Mario sneered at that remark and fired a fireball Specter. The air show had begun.

Specter dodged the attack, and surprisingly, shot an ice ball at Mario.

Mario, who was gliding around, dodged and fired three more shots at Specter.

Specter dodged each of those and fired a surprising lightning ball at the airborne Mario. Unfortunately, Mario was too slow and couldn't dodge the dangerous blast. It smashed into Mario and circulated through his whole fat body. The plumber went unconscious and fell to the ground.

Luigi screamed into the microphone, "Ladies and gentlemen! You have seen it! The amazing Mario went down!"

Then Toad jumped in and said, "Everyone! We can't let this mad android plague the world! Everyone! Prepare for battle! Attack him! The Mushroom Elite Troops will come in soon!"

Everyone (except Waluigi) started pouring into the stairs of the arena to get Dark Mario. Dark Mario picked up the paralyzed body of Mario. He took out his absorption cube, pressed a button on it, and touched Mario with it. Mario got swallowed up inside into the last remaining cube face. His job was done. He walked out of the stadium as his blight followed him.

All of the audience stopped dead in their tracks when they realized Dark Mario left the arena. Immediately, Mask Koopas, Shy Guys, Snifits, Snufits, and Beezos started pouring in from all entrances (and the sky). 

Luigi and Toad weren't doing too well. They knocked out some Mask Koopas and kicked their heads around the arena. At the same time, they were dodging thousands of Snifit and Snufit bullets. Also at the same time, they were watching out for the Beezos swooping by. Finally, Luigi decided to use his firepower and started blasting the Beezos. Once the Beezos were knocked out, he targeted the Snifits and Snufits and knocked them out as well. Toad used a Mask Koopa head and knocked out the Shy Guys and Mask Koopas. The two heroes breathed a sigh of relief as they cleared most of the Cult of Incognito army.

"You shouldn't have done that," said a voice from behind them. Luigi and Toad immediately swiveled around and saw the Thermal Bros. poised to strike. Before Luigi or Toad could do anything, Torch and Cicle immediately let out two strong kicks, knocking out Luigi and Toad.

Waluigi gasped in horror as the arena, not to mention the rest of the Mushroom Kingdom was being overrun by CoI lackeys. He began to flee. Torch turned his attention to the fleeing Waluigi and fired a fireball. Waluigi caught on fire and fainted as he burned up. Cicle would've grinned if his mouth was flexible. "Operation: Successful."

**END OF SCENE 1: ABDUCTIONS******


	2. 

Outcast Mask

**_Scene 2: The Thermal Bros._**

**Scene 2, Chapter 7 – Assailant**

News spread all around the world that the Cult of Incognito took over the Koopa Kingdom and Mushroom Kingdom. Hey-Ho didn't really care. It was their stupid fault that let them be taken over anyway.

Hey-Ho was sitting on a rock doing nothing. He didn't know what to do now. Dark Mario was too fast, like a wind corrupting everything in its path.

As Hey-Ho was thinking, his mysterious stalker was hiding high up in the trees behind him. Hey-Ho detected something and launched his boomerang chopper back, which sliced the branches and sent the mystery man tumbling in front of Hey-Ho.

"Ugh…" moaned Chunky, the punk who picked on Hey-Ho.

Hey-Ho jumped up and pulled the bob-omb out of his backpack. "What are you doing here!?"

Chunky grimaced. "I saw you sneak out of Shroomland. I knew you were up to know good so I decided to follow you."

"What makes me think _you_ are up to no good?"

"Nothing, but… I have a great idea. I'm gonna take you in to the Mushroom police! That's right! Yes, yes… Bring in the missing child. What a hero I'll be… just you see…" He looked insane and dangerous. His voice and accent changed too.

"That's enough, I'm not gonna take anymore of that BS from you." Hey-Ho started to light the bob-omb."

Chunky whipped out a fire pistol and pointed it at Hey-Ho. "No… That's not what's going to happen to me… What is more dangerous? A gun or the bob-omb? That's for you to decide…"

"Who are you?"

"Maybe there's more to me than it seems. Maybe I'm not the idiot punk who's terrorizing the mushroom schools. Maybe I am. Maybe I'm not. Maybe… Maybe…"

"Shut up! Do I care who you are!?" Hey-Ho turned on his jetpack and tried to escape, but the crazed mushroom shot the jetpack and the runaway shy guy down.

"Maybe you should agree to my terms… Come with me to the Mushroom Kingdom… Think about it, you won't have me pointing a gun at you, would you? Would you?"

Hey-Ho raised his hands in defeat. He'd have to think of a plan later. Besides, how could they let a criminal like this loose in the Mushroom Kingdom? Hero? Nah.

Chunky placed handcuffs on Hey-Ho and directed him back the opposite direction to Mushroom Kingdom.

Dark Mario looked at himself. After feeding off so many people, his looks have changed. In fact, he didn't look anything like Mario now. He was leaner, and he was more "elfish" in appearance. His skin was a light blue, and his nose was pointed. Not a resemblance to Mario. He stilled liked the name Dark Mario though. It seemed threatening—sinister… His style.

Dark Mario was now at Wario's castle. What a rich slob. Dark Mario tried a more "dignified" approach. He rang the doorbell. The fat yellow and purple plumber answered the door. "Whaddya want!?"

"Hello."

1 second…

2 seconds…

Wario shrieked. "AHHHHHHHHHH! It's _you!_" He shut the door and ran all the way upstairs. Specter grinned. It should be fun to chase him…

**Scene 2, Chapter 8 – The Boy and the Toy**

** **

**_Cult of Incognito. Incognito Empire. Two slightly different things. You see, the cult is the actual band of us Koopas, Shy Guys, etc. The empire is our rule over the world. Don't mix them up. They're both far too great for anyone to comprehend…_**

_ _

**_-Dr. Schizo (AKA Dr. Fungenstein)_**

All of the Koopa Kingdom and Mushroom Kingdom were enslaved and forced to do whatever the CoI wanted them to do. Dr. Schizo gave Cicle and Torch orders to supervise the construction of a super CoI castle. It will be about 22 castles large, connecting Bowser's Keep and Mushroom Castle, and Cicle and Torch are occupying Bowser's Keep and the Mushroom Castle (build much higher to be "towers") to be their "offices." The work would take an eternity… and the crazy doctor liked that.

Toad worked slowly as he dug out rocks and minerals for the castle. Stall for time was his strategy. As he grabbed a fist full of dirt, he noticed some metal contraption. To stall for more time, he "accidently" released the dirts and rocks and the metal thing. Suddenly he felt a strong kick in his behind rendering his paralyzed for a while. "OWWWWWWWWWWWW! Ahh… the pain!"

Torch stood behind Toad in the same pose. "You lazy scum. Get back to work unless you want Cicle to ice you!"

Elsewhere, Koopas and mushrooms had to work together to build the mega castle of the CoI. An occasional Mask Koopa would just kick someone to cause some trouble and havoc. Dark Mario was nowhere to be found.

As Hey-Ho and Chunky headed toward the Mushroom Kingdom, they had to pass through Toad Town first. Chunky saw this as an excuse for stretching for some time. Hey-Ho saw this as an excuse to stall for some time.

They both stopped behind a small house so Chunky could stretch and relax his lazy self. "Ahhh, it feels good to stop walking and holding you as a prisoner… Doesn't it?"

"Mmm." Hey-Ho didn't pay attention to what that psychopath had to say, he was just watching the inside of the house through the window to waste his time.

A teenager mushroom boy was holding a Shy Guy toy. It had a navy blue robe and yellow shoes—just like Hey-Ho.

"Hmmm… taken interest in little Gene, have you?"

Now the psychopath caught his attention. "Huh?"  
"That boy. His name is Gene. Pretty interesting things this boy has gone through… Yes, the times he has had with that toy…"

"What? What do you know about him!?"

"Oh, many things… The kid you see, yes, he's very lonely, lonely indeed… You see, he always wanted a Shy Guy friend—a partner. He always had some obsession with Shy Guys. Yet, most Shy Guys except you are little thieves and trouble-makers causing havoc wherever they go."

Hey-Ho continued to stare at Gene. His face was neutral, not a smile or frown to his toy. Maybe he outgrew it.

"Ah, but that was years ago. He has changed… changed… He's a teenager now. No need for toys, eh?"

Hey-Ho didn't move. "Was his wish ever granted?"

Chunky never got to answer. The front door slammed open and a Mask Koopa followed by two MechaKoopas and a Pyro Guy stormed the house. Hey-Ho and Chunky were watching through the window, unknown to the CoI lackeys. "As you know, the Incognito Empire, led by the great Dr. Schizo himself, has begun to take over and govern this world. But before that, the great Citadel of Incognito, which links Bowser's Keep and Mushroom Castle, must be built. As a citizen, you're required to work on the project."

_In other words, slave_.

Gene's mom backed away until she hit the wall. Gene just stood there and said contemptuously, "In other words, we're slaves."

"If you refuse to cooperate, yes, we'll be forced to enslave you."

"We'd be slaves nonetheless. Forget it then, we're not submitting to you. I, for one, have nothing to live for."

"Very well then, your punishment for not obeying with the new law will commence." The Mask Koopa snapped his fingers. The two MechaKoopas jumped Gene and started gnashing their metallic teeth at him.

His mom was horrified. "GENE!" She ran in, but the Pyro Guy jumped in front of her, grabbed her, and started burning her.

Hey-Ho was enraged now. He was trying to reach the house, but Chunky was holding him back with the handcuffs. "I'm afraid not, boy."

_"Boy," so that means he's a lot older than I think_. _But who cares… I must help that family! Argh!_

"Give it up, you can't save them in time…"

All Hey-Ho could do was sit there in despair and watch as Gene and his mother got murdered by that vicious Cult of Incognito. He calmed himself, even though his rage was building up. He muttered to Chunky. "If you know so much, tell me about Dr. Schizo. Who is he, what is he up to?"

Chunky paused. He stood up. "I think it's time for us to leave." He pulled on Hey-Ho's cuffs and dragged him away. As Gene was dying, he saw the navy blue Shy Guy being dragged away.

Hours later, they finally made it to the Mushroom Kingdom. It looked nothing like the happy place it should be. Everything was a mess, while cultists were running all over the place.

Wario ran all the way upstairs, bolting every door behind him on the way. Dark Mario simply walked slowly, punching a hole in every door and ripping it out of its hinges. Wario shrieked and dashed to his helicopter pad. Dark Mario grinned and said, "Helicopters? You're too rich…"

Wario smashed in the ignition key, turned it, and was hurrying up the piece of junk to go faster. The copter lifted and made a mad dash through the sky.

"Technology like this? It's not necessary… for me." Dark Mario rose into the sky, using his P-Wing cape. Wario shrieked and zoomed off. Dark Mario stayed there, smiling. Nothing could be more fun than chasing a crazy, fat yellow guy. He charged up a fireball and fired it at Wario, which brought him and his plane crashing down into the water. Wario shrieked.

"Enough fun for now. I must go back to the cult," muttered Dark Mario. He flew off, heading straight for the Ex-Mushroom Castle.

**Scene 2, Chapter 9 – Blood Sport**

"We're here," said Chunky, grinning.

Hey-Ho didn't notice. He kept thinking about what he saw in that house in Toad Town.

The Mushroom Kingdom was dark now. The stores were vacant. Glasses were shattered. Places were unsanitary. It only reflected the dark and evil nature of the CoI. Something caught Hey-Ho's eye. It was that twinkle—that glint. He realized that it was the titanium copter that he saw earlier.

Chunky went on, closing his eyes in his extreme pride, "Yes, I've finally brought this criminal to justice. How it pleases me. No more destruction that he will cause. No, because of me. Because of me…"

Hey-Ho saw this as his chance. He quickly popped out his copter, kicked up the titanium one, and plugged it on top of his head. Then he submerged it under his robe. Chunky was still oblivious because he was still rambling on. "…Oh well, did you hear what they did to the Arena? Yes, that arena where the infamous Specter abducted the famous Mario? Well, it's now rebuilt to hold gladiator battles. They send in waves of MechaKoopas until the gladiator smashes them all… or until they rip up the gladiator. How exciting, eh? I'll send you to there. I hope you have a fun time. I have business attend to… Important business…"

Chunky dragged Hey-Ho a couple blocks down to the Arena. There, a transfer commenced, and Hey-Ho was thrown into a gladiator cell. Unfortunately, he was the only one. In the meantime, the Arena filled up with CoI minions, and Torch and Cicle took the announcer's box. Two minutes later, two Mask Koopas came in and dragged Hey-Ho out into the Arena. The audience cheered.

Torch and Cicle were surprised. Torch spoke into the mike, "Well, look who the cat dragged out! It's that little punk that we meant earlier!"

Cicle joined in. "Payback time!"

"Well then, let the MechaKoopas out."

MechaKoopas came pouring out from the sides. About three surrounded Hey-Ho on each of his four sides. The audience booed Hey-Ho raucously. One MechaKoopa was quicker than the others and jumped at Hey-Ho. Hey-Ho switched on his titanium blades and quickly made that machine stop functioning.

_I better make a break for it. They'll keep sending more, and I'll have no chance of survival down here_.

He grabbed the MechaKoopa he just slaughtered and swung it around, knocking out the closest three MechaKoopas. The remaining four MechaKoopas continued charging forward. He threw the MechaKoopa in his hand at the one in front of him, charged at the Koopa to the right of him, knocking it unconscious. He picked it up, jumped on the next MechaKoopa, and switched on his copter.

"He's getting away!" screamed Cicle. In the meantime, Torch was humming the song, "'Fraid He Must Die, Cuz He's a Shy Guy."

Cicle was enraged now. He never thought of escaping through air. "That's it! Today's gladiator match is canceled!" Torch pressed a button which released an armada of Beezos in the air.

"If that can't take care of him, then he's damned good."

"Let's get out of here. This is a perfect time to work on our secret project."

"Of course. Specter should be coming here soon. We need to work as much as we can before he arrives. Then our work will be very furtive."

The Thermal Brothers dashed out of the arena and into the Mushroom Castle, future home of Torch's.

Hey-Ho was amazed at all the Beezos that were sent to attack him. There were about 12 Beezos at twelve o' clock, 27 Beezos at three o' clock, 7 at six, and 13 at nine. There was no way he can take down all of them, so he swung the malfunctioning MechaKoopa at the group of 27 Beezos. It was an accurate throw, taking out most of the 27 Beezos. This was his chance. He made a dash right through the Beezo swarm and dropped all the way down to the ground. The other Beezos were so stupefied by the MechaKoopa that they forgot about Hey-Ho.

"Billy Bob! Is he okay?"

"Ya reckon he's not?"

"I reckon…"

"Ya reckon we better get out of here?"

"I reckon…"

The Beezos sped off and rushed the unconscious Beezos to the hospital, forgetting about Hey-Ho.

Hey-Ho was now in a construction area. It was deserted because of that crazy Arena, but the slaves and cultists should be back soon. He started walking forward until he tripped over something.

Dr. Schizo and Dark Mario sat in the meeting room in Ice Tower (Bowser's Keep). Dr. Schizo muttered, "God, what's taking those two idiots so long. Sporus and I are getting impatient…"

"Just wait, master… If they come too late, then I'll find ways to deal with them.

Cicle and Torch were outside the room. They heard some of the conversation. Torch whispered, "We'll deal with you, you power-hungry maniac soon enough."

Cicle silently laughed. "Ha, I don't see why Specter has to call that old fool 'Master.' The doctor is obviously being played for a fool."

The Thermal Bros. walked into the room casually. Dr. Schizo slammed the table. "Where have you two been!? You good-for-nothing idiots!"

"Chill," said Cicle. "We've been working on our top-secret project." The two snifits took their seats.

"Ah yes. Your top-secret project… When will you reveal it to us? When will you tell us what it does? When will it be done?" said Dark Mario.

"Soon enough. It's in its final stages. It should be ready by tomorrow," said Torch.

Cicle sneered. "We've been running into trouble from a rogue Shy Guy named Hey-Ho."

Dr. Schizo spoke up and said, "What happened to him in the arena."

"The Beezos were chasing him. Unfortunately, he wounded some, and the rest were distracted. He took advantage of that and got away. His whereabouts are currently unknown."

"He is definitely Slasher…"

Suddenly, Dr. Schizo's voice changed into a higher-pitched and older voice. "If that's true, then I find it astounding that he doesn't remember Gene Myco…"

Everyone stared at him.

His voice changed back to normal. "Meeting dismissed. We'll meet again in a few hours to discuss this Hey-Ho character."

Dark Mario muttered, "He's no threat to me…"

**Scene 2, Chapter 10 – Destiny**

"Shy Guy, get up."

Hey-Ho pushed himself up and moaned. A wizard who's face was concealed faced him. "Wh-who are you?"  
"A wizard. Not much of a big deal, is it? Originally, I was enslaved by those mad Thermal Bros. Now tell me, are you a friend or foe."

"Friend. I'm not associated with any CoI Shy Guy. They make me sick."

"Very good. I believe I can trust you. Something about you says you have a good heart."

_Heart? I don't have one._

"I can tell you what I've found out. Recently, Torch and Cicle created this satellite-like machine. I overheard from them that they will use it to mind control everyone in this world. If that happens, then they'll rule the world. That should never happen!"

"Those little suckups."

"Ha, far from that. You see, if that happens, Dr. Schizo and Dark Mario will also be under their control. Then the world will never be safe."

"Then I'll stop them."

"How can you? You're just an ordinary Shy Guy."  
"I'm far from ordinary."

The wizard stood there staring at Hey-Ho. "Hmmm. I see. I don't know why, but you are. Tell me stranger. What's your name?"

"Hey-Ho."  
"Hey-Ho? What kind of name is that?"

"Heiho. It's Japanese for Shy Guy. It was just a nickname given to me when I was living in the Mushroom Kingdom. I don't have a solid name. I also go by Slasher."  
Bah.

_What the!?_

"Heihoo. I see… Well, the honorable thing for me to do is to help you. I don't have the potential to save the world. I don't even know if I can save myself anymore. Stand still. It's not gonna hurt." The wizard raised a staff and chanted some weird words. A flash of light jolted out of the staff and zapped Hey-Ho,

"AH!"

Don't cry now.

_Shut up whoever you are._

It didn't hurt. In fact, he felt like he had more energy—like he was stronger. "What happened?"  
"You're not limited to that frozen face anymore. I let you change your mask or expression. But you can't _move_ your mask, it only _changes_."

"Wow! Thanks a lot!" Hey-Ho smiled for the first time in his life.

"You also are a bit stronger, now that I united your body."

"United?"

"You're an android. You're body doesn't totally act as a whole. Now it does."

"Thanks again! You can't do that again?"

"Haha, no. That drained all the magic that was left inside me. I guess I'll have to walk home now instead of warping or flying. Ha. Maybe I can hitch a ride or something. Well I'm off. Please defeat Cicle and Torch and good luck. And by the way, they're striking tonight. I forgot to tell you." The wizard walked away and disappeared as mysteriously as he appeared.

"That was odd…"

It sure was.

"Who are you?"

People would look at you and think you're strange talking to yourself.

Hey-Ho turned around and saw a very small computer-chip-like thing. He picked it up and scrutinized it.

Hey, let go of me!

"Who are you?"  
Should it concern you?

"It should. Now tell me." Hey-Ho pulled a spare copter out of his backpack and folded it into a knife.

Okay, maybe I should concern you. But before I tell you anything about myself, I want to know why you are calling yourself an android and Slasher.

"It's who I am."

That's BS. You see, _I'm Slasher_. _There is no other._

Hey-Ho was shocked. "Then who am I!?"

Ha, I know perfectly well who you are.

"Tell me!"

Only if you promise to take me with you.

"Why?"

I don't want to be here—_alone_.

"I'm always alone. Fine. Now tell me everything you know."

Okay then. About 11 years ago, there was a mad scientist named Sporus Myco. He wanted to reach Star Road. He wanted to take over the world. So he built an android. That was me.

"I thought Dr. Schizo created you."

I don't know who you're talking about. Anyway, with my help, he gathered up seven people and fulfilled the requirements.

"Requirements?"

Two good. Two bad. One loud. One proud. A Mushroom. A Koopa. A Nimbus. Those were the requirements. 

"I never knew those."

Anyway, the gate was opened and the mad doctor was free to take over the world. However, a little boy named Gene Myco amazed me. He followed me after Dr. Myco and I abducted the necessary people to open the gate to Star Road. He had a little Shy Guy toy. I could tell… that he liked Shy Guys. He said to me, "Slasher, don't do it. Please." He started to cry.

"Gene Myco…"

Awhile later, through a bunch of mazes and tasks that would've killed us if it hadn't been for me, Dr. Myco and I reached the Wishing Star. Dr. Myco began to make his wish that would turn the world to chaos and under his control. Then I thought of Gene… I had no other choice. I killed the mad doctor with my blades, and he used the last of his energy to kill me with his gun. But with the last of my energy, I wished one wish. I wished that Gene would have a good Shy Guy buddy. The star granted my wish and then I was knocked unconscious.

"That means I'm your creation… That's why I'm based off your model."

Exactly. After that, I found myself—or at least my brain—lying down here, as dirt piled on top of me. I shut myself down until recently when I was dug up. End of story.

"Don't you know anything about Cicle, Torch, Dark Mario, and Dr. Schizo?"

No. Never heard of them. I told you, I shut myself down. They're probably some newcomers or whatever.

"What about Dr. Fungenstein?"

Dr. Fungenstein? Don't you mean Anthony "Chunky" Fungenstein? Bah. He was some loser punk who admired Dr. Myco. He wasn't smart to me.

"Well now he is for some reason. Now I also know a lot more… I don't know why they call him Dr. Schizo though."

Schizophrenic? I'm not sure.

"Also, Cicle and Torch, who are both creations of Dr. Schizo, are trying to brainwash the whole world with some device they created. They're going to strike tonight!"

Crazy fools.

"So, umm, how am I going to take you with me?"

Pop your mask open.

"WHAT!?"

Do it. You're an android. It won't hurt.

Hey-Ho popped his mask open to reveal a mix of blood vessels, wires, and machinery.

Put me in to the right of your head. There's an empty slot. It's meant for some weird connection like this.

He put Slasher's brain in his head and closed the mask.

Heh, now I can talk directly to you. Not only that, I gave you extra power with my power source, I can connect into the net with your advanced technology, and… I can control you body.

Hey-Ho, who didn't control himself, jumped into the air and smirked. Slasher gave control back to Hey-Ho.

"I'm beginning to feel a bit uneasy about this…"

Don't worry, I won't take advantage of your body. I won't use it that much anyway, unless I _really_ need it. Trust me.

"Okay…"

Now lemme tap into your memory and learn everything about these androids you speak of.

The four CoI leaders met again in their meeting room.

"I want to know more about this Hey-Ho character," said Cicle.

"He's nothing to me. A mere worm. That's what all Shy Guys are: pawns. Little kids… They're nothing to me," said Dark Mario, totally confident.

"Ahhh, but you see, you see, I know a lot about Slasher and Hey-Ho," whispered Dr. Schizo loud enough so everyone could here.

Torch jumped to his feet and pounded the table. "Tell me who that Sporus guy is!"

Cicle muttered, "He has no tact…"

Dr. Schizo's voice changed again to that same high-pitched voice that he had before. "You see… Dr. Schizo is two people."

"The words of a schizophrenic," muttered Dark Mario.

"Dr. Fungenstein and Dr. Myco. I am Dr. Myco. I'm a lot older than Dr. Fungenstein. Let me tell you the story about Slasher and I."

"Please, do tell."

"You see, I have reached the Wishing Star already. But before that, I knew about it. I created Slasher, my first android to help me do everything I needed to reach the Wishing Star. He helped me abduct the people I needed and brought them to the Temple of Stars. However, my damn son followed Slasher and said something to him. It probably brainwashed him."

"Shy Guys are just pawns."

"After going through what would've killed me if it hadn't been for Slasher, we reached the Wishing Star. I was about to wish my great and wonderful wish until that treacherous Slasher turned on my and slashed me to death. Right before he finished me, I pulled out my gun and shot him. It was well worth it. AFTER ALL MY HARD WORK, MY PROGRESS WAS STOPPED BY THAT TREACHEROUS SHY GUY. Oh well, now I don't have treacherous Shy Guys with me now, don't I?" Dr. Schizo grinned at Dark Mario.

"So what happened to you? How come you and Dr. Fungenstein are still here today?"

"After we both killed each other, the world we were in disappeared and we were sent back to the real world. The corpse of Slasher went in one direction, the corpse of myself went in another. Anthony Fungenstein, who wanted to learn from me took control of my lab and began to study from my notes. After awhile, he found my dead body and preserved my brain so that it could live."

His voice changed back to Dr. Fungenstein. "After that, I decided to create some androids of my own. I built you two." He pointed toward Torch and Cicle. "But then I realized that me and Myco put together could create the ultimate android. I created an android and put my brain and Dr. Myco's brain in it. This is that very body I'm talking about." Fungenstein pointed to himself.

"What happened to Gene?"

Dr. Myco laughed. "I ordered the murder of him and my wife. I figured they would pose a problem."

"You killed your own family?"

"Yes."

Everyone started laughing maniacally. Torch faced Cicle and mouthed, "It's time."

Cicle nodded. "Master Fungenstein, Master Myco, and Master Dark Mario, please excuse us, but we must work on our secret project now."

Dr. Fungenstein stopped laughing. "Alright, this meeting is dismissed."

Torch and Cicle left the room.

Dark Mario muttered under his breath, "Traitors." His eyes glowed red.

"Is there something wrong, Specter?"

"Shy Guys are just pawns."

**Scene 2, Chapter 11 – Future on Fire**

"You know what, I don't understand why they do this."

No reply.

"Hello?"  
Shh. You'd look like your talking to yourself. Look. That giant CoI sign above the CoI Citadel door is moving.

The giant "CoI" sign above the door slid open to reveal a satellite behind the sign.

_It's a giant satellite!_

__The Thermal Bros. are gonna do it now! The two castles, or towers, are probably powering energy.

_I see the Mushroom Castle glowing. Let's go!_

Hey-Ho dashed off to the not-far-away castle/tower.

Torch stood at the top of his tower and laughed. The countdown had begun, and once it was over, he and Cicle would be the rulers of this plagued world. There was one minute remaining. A Shy Guy ran into the room. "Master Torch! We've spotted the renegade Shy Guy, Hey-Ho!"

"What!?"

"He's heading toward this tower, sir!"

"Dispatch the air squadron on him. Don't let him get near!"

"Yes, sir!"

Hey-Ho ran until he was at the wall of the tower. A few slave Toads stared at him.

I'm hacking into the tower's computer.

Hey-Ho popped out his blades and took off and headed straight up.

0:50 remaining!

By the time Hey-Ho was a couple feet above the ground, a swarm of Beezos swooped in chased him.

"Beezos!"

Not only that! There's a Sky Guy armada! Fly! Fly!

The copter spun at full speed and Hey-Ho dashed up the tower. The Beezos chased from below as the Sky Guys aimed their slingshots.

The Beezos are too fast and the Sky Guys are going to pummel us!

"FIRE ONE!" Called the Sky Guy captain. A barrage of 7 rocks zoomed at Hey-Ho. Only one hit.

"Ow! That hurts!"

Do something! If they stop us, there'll be no future! 0:40

As the Beezos closed in, Hey-Ho was running out of ideas. He turned on his jetpack, and used up the last of its energy. The Beezos got caught in the flames and hurtled down to the ground, injured. Now that his copter wasn't needed, he launched it like a boomerang and popped all seven Sky Guys' balloons.

Wow! That was amazing! The coast's clear! Let's go! 0:35

The jetpack died for good, and Hey-Ho jettisoned it to the burned Beezos.

Ooh! Double whammy. I like it. 0:33

Hey-Ho switched back to his copter and flew up as fast as he could.

0:30.

_Only a few feet more! I don't have time!_

"Do you see that, brother!? The dawn of a new future is coming before us!" Torch laughed hysterically. The two were linked "telepathically" by two little devices in their heads.

"Yes, we must congratulate ourselves on such a job well done! The doc and Specter don't even know anything about it!"

0:20.

"I plan on celebrating big. How 'bout having the zombie Tayce T. cook us a huge feast!"

"Haha, yeah. No stupid Gourmet Guy to eat half of it!"

They both laughed enjoying their incoming victory.

0:10.

Cicle screamed, "Torch! Something's going on here! It seems as though I have an intruder! I'll take care of him! Don't worry, the time's coming anyway!"

"What!? Alright, it's no big deal. Even if he _does_ stop the countdown, I still have a battery backup."

0:05.

Hey-Ho was only one foot away.

HURRY! Four seconds, Hey-Ho!

Half a foot. 0:03

Torch saw the navy blue Shy Guy at the window of the tower. "What!? Why did they have to install windows here? Oh yeah, so I could view _my_ world! Haha, silly me!"

0:02.

Alright, enough of this! Slasher took control over Hey-Ho's body, took out his old copter, folded it up into a knife, and hurled it into the generator.

The machine started buzzing out of control and shut off. 0:00.

Nothing happened.

Torch screamed, "Noooo! Curse you! Cicle, activate the backup energy! I'll take care of them!"

Cicle, who was waiting for his intruder to come barging in, initiated the backup power. Two minutes till it's online.

Slasher returned control to Hey-Ho, and he landed inside Torch's tower. Torch ran to the center and yelled, "Why don't you come here and meet me face to face, you stupid Shy Guy!"

Hey-Ho, without any option, ran to face Torch in the middle of the top of the tower. Torch laughed, pulled out a controller, and pressed the big red button.

Wow. A big red button. How stereotypical…

Suddenly, a whole ring of flames surrounded them. The flames shot up the ceiling and stayed burning. There was no way out. "Ha! How do you like that, Hey-Ho? While Cicle's reactivating our Slave Ray, you'll never escape!"

"You maniac! Do you realize what you're going to do to the world!?"

"Of course I do. The world will belong to the Thermal Brothers!"

1:50. Fuming with anger, Hey-Ho charged at Torch. Torch quickly countered by shooting a weak fireball at Hey-Ho.

It stung. It burned. It didn't stop the raging Hey-Ho. He smashed into Torch, knocking the android snifits into one of the flame beams. As the fire cooked him, the air above Torch was free because he was blocking the beam.

Now's your chance! Go! 1:45!

Hey-Ho jumped over the frying Snifit and exited the ring of fire. He turned around and glared at Torch.

There's no time! Forget about him! The world is in danger, and he's done.

"You're right. I'm sorry." Hey-Ho picked up the knife that was stuck in the generator and jumped onto the window that faced Cicle's Tower, which was very far away.

Dr. Schizo and Dark Mario stood in the CoI headquarters located deep within the CoI Citadel.

"So do you have all the victims necessary?" asked Schizo.

"Yes," lied Dark Mario. He had six, but the seventh would come soon enough. "When are we ready to start on our trip?"

"Soon. We just need to have a lock hold on the Mushroom Kingdom."

"I think that's already done."

"No. There are still five resistance forces. The people of Nimbus Land are angry at losing their prince and are mobilizing a pitiful military. They're very far away also."

"Who else?"

"General Guy and his Shy Guys from Shy Guy's Toy Box. Many of them don't believe in the cult and wish to stay loyal to General Guy. They're also upset at the treacherous Shy Guys that left them to join the CoI. Those larcenous Shy Guys have been running around Toad Town stealing weapons and everything from any Incognito troop. Knowing their toy-making skills, they could make something deadlier from those. They're slightly trapped in their toy box, so they shouldn't be a threat."

"Go on."

"The boos of Boo Mansion and Gusty Gulch are a bit weary of the CoI, so they've been scaring many of our troops lately. They don't really have weapons, so they should be no problem."

"Ha! I'm not scared."

"There's also the citizens of Dry Dry Outpost. Some guy named Moustafa is somehow trying to rally them up for the worst. I sent some troops into Dry Dry Desert, but I haven't heard from them since."

"They probably got lost and got attacked by the desert citizens. They're not very reliable, you know."

"Then there's the Shiver Region. The people of Shiver City are also noticing our domination of the Mushroom Kingdom. That's a big city, and they may be a slight annoyance. Starborn Valley is probably harmless."

"I see. What about Mt. Lavalava?"

"They're too far away. They don't know what's going on here. Besides, what are they gonna do? Throw sticks at us? Haha."

"Are those all the areas that are still unconquered?"

"Yeah. Goomba Village was a joke to conquer. Koopa Village fought back, but they were nothing. The Bob-ombs hurt us quite a bit, but they've been captured."

"Haha. This should be a piece of cake then. Any individual resistance?"

"Kolorado has escaped Koopa Village and is now exploring Crystal Palace. I think he's actually hiding instead of exploring. Gourmet Guy is trapped in the toy box. Anti Guy is a rogue Shy Guy, and he's been last seen beating up CoI Guys."

"Not another stupid Shy Guy. We'll get him captured. Maybe his love for lemon candy will be his defeat."

"I sure hope so. Then there's that annoying pest, Hey-Ho. He shouldn't be a bother, really. Smile, Specter, our time is coming soon."

"Your time is coming sooner than you think," muttered Dark Mario so that Dr. Schizo couldn't here.

**Scene 2, Chapter 12 – Hypothermia**__

_ _

Torch crawled out of the fire beam, burned to a crisp. With all the energy he had, he contacted Cicle. "Brother… Hey-Ho… coming… be prepared… I'll be… okay…"

"Torch! What happened!" Pounding could be heard in the background.

"My… circuits… are sizzled… I need the doct—" Torch was cut off as he went unconscious.

Hey-Ho was in the air, and was flying across the citadel walls.

1:30.

Spear Guys lined up on the ground and hurled spears at Hey-Ho.

Dodge them, there's a low probability they'll hit you. 1:25.

Hey-Ho continued to dash all the way to what was Bowser's Keep.

In Cicle's Tower, the door at the very top burst open. Cicle stayed his ground as he pressed a big cyan button. The temperature quickly dropped to negative fifty degrees Fahrenheit.

Hey-Ho was almost at the tower. Slaving Koopa Troopas waved from below.

0:35.

"I can't take it anymore… I can't keep in the air that much anymore!" Hey-Ho was losing it—fast!

Look! The window at the top of the tower is locked. But look, below it, there's another window right below that giant snowflake insignia.

"Alright. I have an idea." Hey-Ho grabbed his rope and lassoed it on to one of the snowflake's corners. He turned off his blades and let the rope do all the work. His feet came first as he swooped down and busted through the window.

Oooh, do you think you're all big and bad now? 0:30. Slasher laughed.

"Shut up," Hey-Ho quickly said. He was on a staircase which led up to the top. He ran up, but quickly saw a Mask Troopa walking his way.

There must be guards up there. Quick, do what Mario does.

Hey-Ho acknowledged, and jumped on the Mask Troopa. The Koopa was trapped inside the mask. "Anyone for soccer?" Hey-Ho laughed and kicked the mask up the stairs. Up there were six Spy Guys, four Mask Koopas, three Spear Guys, and two Sky Guys. The steel door was open already.

The shell came through and knocked out all the ground guards. Hey-Ho dashed through, jumped and kicked a nearby Sky Guy. He then stole his slingshot and his ammo case, and shot down the other Sky Guy.

Hurry up. There's no time to lose. 0:20. It seems that someone got here before us.

Hey-Ho ran through the door. It was freezing cold! He saw Cicle dodging some ammo. He turned and saw Geno attacking Cicle.

"Well, Slasher, it's nice meeting you again. Heh, I wouldn't have expected to see you here. I've managed to take out most of the guards. Now only this creep is left," said Geno.

"Two annoyances!? I can't deal with this." Cicle went up to Geno, who just ceased fire because his hands were frozen. Cicle picked Geno up, and hurled him down the garbage shaft. "I think his capture should happen any moment now. Hehehe… Now, who are you, you stupid Shy Guy, to think you can mess with the great Cicle!? You have some nerve! I don't even have to do anything. You see, this room is set to –30 degrees Fahrenheit! You're never gonna save your world in time. There's only fifteen seconds remaining!"

Hey-Ho's body started turning into ice. He threw the knife at the machine. Cicle quickly shot an ice ball at the knife and froze it. The iced knife lost momentum and dropped to the ground.

"Hahaha! You're doomed! Doomed I say!"

Oh no! We're doomed! Even if you do get out, there's only 13 seconds left! I guess it was nice knowing you.

_Never say never_! Hey-Ho started to move.

"What the!? This can't be happening! You're supposed to be frozen stiff!" cried Cicle, who ran to the temperature control. "That's it! Try negative fifty! Prepare to suffer from _extreme hypothermia_! Hahaha! Forget it! You're doomed!"

Hey-Ho walked a few more steps to the control panel before the temperature went down even more. "It's too cold now…"

I can't believe you could actually survive through this. C'mon buddy, you're not giving up today, or at least _I'm_ not! Slasher took over Hey-Ho's body. Using his extra energy, he took a few more steps. Only a foot away…

"Five seconds…" muttered Slasher.

"No! This can't be happening! Damn you! Negative fifty!"

Slasher reached for the shut down button. He was only an inch away before he completely froze. The maniacal laugh of Cicle could barely be heard in the background.

No, this can't be happening, gasped Hey-Ho. Think of what would happen if this thing will power up and activate! No… I CAN'T LET IT HAPPEN!

_What the!?_ said Slasher. 0:01. Slasher returned control back to Hey-Ho.

Hey-Ho's frozen hand moved. Using everything he could, he pressed the shut down button.

0:00. Nothing happened.

"Noooo!" screamed Cicle. "This can't be happening! We've been working on this ever since we're created! I'm afraid I'll have to KILL YOU!"

"Pfffff." The generator made a hissing noise.

"What? What's going on? Oh no! The temperature is too cold!"

More holes appeared. The generators were falling apart.

"No! Stop it! I command you!"

It was too late. The generators exploded, sending Cicle hurtling out of the tower. The air conditioner was also destroyed the by the explosion, and the room began to slowly turn back to normal.

Hey-Ho moved his feet. Then his arms. Then his body. "I did it… I DID IT! I saved the world!" He jumped up in the air and spun.

Haha! That's the spirit! Show those snifits rejects that we can't be beaten!

Hey-Ho and Slasher cheered, but the rest of the world didn't. No one knew of the Thermal Bros' maniacal plan. No one knew how close the whole world came to annihilation.

Dark Mario stood at the door and peered in. He saw Hey-Ho dancing and spinning a giant piece of scrap metal around in the air. "Traitors. Traitors must be dealt with…" he muttered. He walked away and left the tower.

**END OF SCENE 2: THE THERMAL BROS.******


	3. 

Outcast Mask

**_Scene 3: The CoI Citadel_**

**Scene 3, Chapter 13 – Keeping Pace**

The crisis was over—but not for long. CoI troops sent the burned Torch to the hospital. The Incognito forces finally conquered the Shiver Region. Cicle was found lying unconscious outside Crystal Palace. He was sent back to the citadel for intensive care. Kolorado was found hiding in the Crystal Palace basement. He was captured and sent to the large citadel jail. Dr. Schizo ordered another platoon to attack Dry Dry Outpost.

Hey-Ho left the citadel and returned to Toad Town, beating up any guards in the way.

Two Snifits guarded the entrance to Toad Town. Hey-Ho approached them. "Hey, you! No one is allowed here! Go away!" barked one of the snifits.

"Yeah, scram!" snapped the other.

Hey-Ho pulled out his knife and held it out in front of him. "It's really unfair, you know. Two on one. So let's make this fair. Say hello to my little friend."

The two Snifits looked at each other and sprinted away in fear.

Hey-Ho wandered around town. Bandits were running in and out, stealing money and belongings from all the Toads. A Boo would occasionally appear and freak a Bandit out.

So what are you planning on doing now?

_The Cult of Incognito must be stopped. There's a minimal resistance right now. We need to return power to Toad Town. I think I may know who can help, believe it or not._

What if I said I didn't believe it?

Hey-Ho ignored Slasher and saw an average house that seemed to be heavily guarded. Ten Fat Guys and two Spear Guys were patrolling it.

Ow. That's a lot of security. How're you going to get past that?

"Watch and observe." Hey-Ho pulled the Bob-omb out of his pack and screamed, "Hey Fat Bastard!"

The Fat Guys all clumped together and prepared to charge Hey-Ho. Hey-Ho lit the Bob-omb and hurled it at the fat army. It was a bull's eye and all the Fat Guys got knocked out. The two Spear Guys ran to the front. One of them screamed, "Hey you! Get out of here! No toys for you!"

Hey-Ho popped out his copter and fired it at one of the Spear Guys. He ran to the other and kicked him straight up the mask. The two Spear Guys fell unconscious, and Hey-Ho entered the building. The room was empty. It was like a warehouse

Nothing here…

Suddenly, a part of the wall opened up like a door. A CoI Guy peered out. "Oliver? What happened! Heeey! You're not Oliver!"

"Damn straight I'm not," said Hey-Ho. "Take me to the toy box."

"Ummm… Dr. Schizo said not to let anyone in. But… we're playing Pin the Club on the Clubba. We'll let you in if you play."

"Fine…"

Hey-Ho entered the next room. In the center was a colorful box. On the wall was a picture of a Clubba holding nothing. A CoI Guy held a pin with a club on it. "Okay! It's my turn!"

The two other CoI Guys ran over and blindfolded him. The blindfolded CoI Guy started clumsily walking toward the Clubba. The two other CoI Guys started rooting and cheering.

Ha. They're so caught up in their stupid game that they forgot you even existed. Let's go. 0:30.

_Oh shut up…_

Did I say 0:30? Hehe, my bad.

Hey-Ho opened the box and jumped in. He was suddenly in a colorful world. A bunch of Shy Guys glared at him. One comically dressed Shy Guy with a badge and a hat stood in front. "Friend or foe!?"

"Friend!"

"How can you back that up?" asked General Guy.

Uh oh. Think of something.

"Umm. My name is Hey-Ho?"

Oh gee. Smooth… said Slasher, sarcastically.

"THE Hey-Ho?"

"Yep."

"Ah ha! Our Spy Guys have seen wanted ads all over town looking for you! You're a criminal to the CoI! That's good! Shy Guys, pull back."

The Shy Guys backed off and started jumping up and down with joy.

Hey-Ho spoke up. "Listen, general. Toad Town is in chaos. The toy box will be taken over once Toad Town has been conquered. There's barely any resistance against the CoI. We need your help!"

"I don't know about this…"

"What is there to lose? The toy box will be taken if you don't do anything. Why don't you try to live in peace with the Toads? They'll be forever grateful if you help them. I'm sure working together would help the Shy Guys too."

The Shy Guys looked at each other.

"You sound convincing, but this would be a huge change for the Toy Box."

"How about this. Maybe this place would be too confining sometimes. Toad Town is thinking about expanding to the west. There's a lot of open land between here and Goomba Village. If you help save the world from the CoI, you'll have your own Shy Guy town. And besides, there are other groups that are also resisting the CoI. Once I get them to do something, the CoI will have no chance."

"I like it! Sir, you have just convinced me! Prepare the army for battle! Today, Toad Town will be liberated!"

The Shy Guys jumped up and down with joy. Hey-Ho smiled. Suddenly, they all stared at him. Hey-Ho quickly said, "Don't ask."

The CoI Guys cheered. Their comrade finally pinned the club on the Clubba. Suddenly, the box opened. "Oh no, they're trying again. Close the box."

It was too late. Two Groove Guys leaped out of the box. The CoI Guys stared at them. Then the Groove Guys started spinning and leaping. They soon started to break dance. The CoI Guys started clapping and cheering.

Unknown to the distracted CoI Guys, two Spy Guys popped out of the Toy Box. They fired at the CoI Guys, knocking them out. Soon after, All the Shy Guys, Medi Guys, Groove Guys, Spy Guys, Pyro Guys, and Stilt Guys came out. As it got crowded, they went outside. Following them came the Shy Squad. They posed and exited the building. Then came the Shy Guy with the two signal sticks. Soon came General Guy and his huge tank. The Shy Guy with the signal sticks ran out of the building. General Guy came bursting out of the building.

Inside the box, Gourmet Guy was looking at the spring that was the exit. "C'mon, Gourmet Guy. A whole world of food awaits you," said Hey-Ho. Hey-Ho jumped out of the toy box.

"Don't leave me! I wanna hide with Tayce T.!" Gourmet Guy jumped out of the box and bounded out of the hideout.

General Guy rounded up his enormous army and marched down the streets of Toad Town. All the cultists were severly beaten up and sent to the Shy Guy's Toy Box's playground, which served as a jail. In a short matter of time, the Shy Guys took over and liberated Toad Town. All the Toads came out and danced. Some even hugged some Shy Guys.

A girl Toad spotted Hey-Ho and said, "Ooh! He's sooo adorable!"

Uh oh! Hehehehe!

She ran over and squeezed Hey-Ho.

HAHAHAHAHA! Slasher was laughing hysterically and going crazy.

_The things I do to get loved_…

Russ T. came out of his house and muttered, "Who would've thought—Shy Guys and Toads working together. In the meantime, Shy Guys worked in the toy box creating weapons and tanks to defeat the CoI with.

Hey-Ho looked around. Toad Town wasn't terrorized anymore. It was still in chaos though. Everybody—especially the Shy Guys—were running around and partying.

General Guy stood at the center of Toad Town and announced, "Soon, we'll liberate Koopa Village, Goomba Village, and Bob-omb Fortress! Once that happens, the Cult of Incognito will only be secluded in their citadel and the Shiver Region!"

Everyone cheered. The southwest side of Toad Town was filled with people dancing and celebrating. Gourmet Guy danced with Tayce T. Boos piled in and also celebrated—not to mention scaring some victims. Bootler and Lady Bow came in as well and partied. Bow decided to defend the town, and when the time came, lead the Boos for an assault on the citadel.

Hey-Ho walked to the pipe that led to the Toad Town Tunnels. General Guy and Bow caught up with Hey-Ho.

"Sir, where are you going? The festivities have only begun!" said General Guy.

"Yes, stay! It's quite a fright!" added Bow.

"I'm sorry. I have business to run in the Nimbus Kingdom. I'll be back. Have fun. I hope your attacks on Koopa Village, Bob-omb Fortress, and Goomba Village go well. See ya later."

General Guy and Bow waved Hey-Ho good-bye as he jumped into the pipe.

Knock. Knock. Anti Guy rammed the palm tree for lemon. Yes, yummy, delicious lemons! He could get them turned into Lemon Candy. Even sweeter! When he collected his lemons, he headed back to the outpost. He heard marching in the distance. Getting closer, Anti Guy saw a whole army of cultists marching toward Dry Dry Outpost, which was caught by surprise. Merlee and Moustafa escaped into the warp pipe. Anti Guy ran past the army and jumped into the warp pipe after the two.

At the same time, Boo Mansion and Gusty Gulch were even more of a ghost town than before. There wasn't a ghost in sight. They were all having fun in the newly liberated Toad Town. A CoI Mask Koopa who was wandering in the Forever Forest for a long time finally reached Gusty Gulch. With no one to stop him, he danced and shouted, "I conquered Gusty Gulch in the name of the Cult of Incognito! Woo!"

Dark Mario walked up to Dr. Schizo, who was working on the wounded Thermal Bros. He sneered at them and turned his attention to the doctor. "We've conquered Dry Dry Outpost and Gusty Gulch."

"That's good."

"Merlee, Moustafa, and Anti Guy were seen escaping."

"Okay…"

"There's really bad news, however. General Guy and his army liberated Toad Town. All our men either escaped, or where imprisoned."

"That's nice."

Dark Mario walked away from the doctor who just didn't give a damn.

"I don't care about you either," muttered Dark Mario.

"That's nice."

**Scene 3, Chapter 14 – West Side Story**

As Hey-Ho wandered around in the Toad Town Tunnels, three odd figures headed toward him. One was a little mouse with a turban, the other was a shadowy female wizard, and the third was a dark Shy Guy with a blue mask.

Moustafa, Merlee, and Anti Guy.

"Huh? What are you doing here?" asked Hey-Ho.

"Dry Dry Outpost was invaded! I have nowhere to go now!" said Moustafa

"Toad Town is liberated now."

"Really! Then off I go!" Moustafa ran into the warp pipe into Toad Town.

"My little center was taken over by the cultists. I guess I'll have to work in Toad Town for awhile. I sense you're a good one. Good luck." Merlee followed Moustafa.

"Ummm…" said Anti Guy.

"You're not much for words, aren't you?"

"Out of my way. I need to see Tayce T." Anti Guy brushed past Hey-Ho and followed Merlee.

What a grouch, said Slasher.

"Forget about him, we need to get to the Nimbus Kingdom."

After exploring the dark and dismal tunnels, Hey-Ho finally stumbled into a warp pipe that led to the Nimbus Kingdom. He jumped in and found himself on the cloud kingdom.

A couple of Nimbus people that were walking by stopped and froze when they saw the intruding Shy Guy pop out of the pipe. One started screaming, "Ahhh! The cult is coming to conquer us!" They started running in circles.

"Silence! I don't mean harm… Please, let me see the king. I know your prince is missing. I even know who did it. Let me see him, and I'm sure the cult will only be a thing of the past."

The Nimbus people stopped and stared at the Shy Guy wondering if they should trust him. One of them stepped up and said quietly, "Follow me then, Shy Guy." The Nimbus guided Hey-Ho through the kingdom until they finally came to the castle. The guards moved aside for the Nimbus, and they glared at Hey-Ho. The two walked down the halls to the throne room. The king was pacing back and forth still thinking about his missing son.

"What to do… What to do…" he moaned.

"Your highness, this Shy Guy wants to talk to you. He says he has important news about the prince."

The king jumped and ran over to Hey-Ho. He grabbed him, shook him, and said, "What do you know about my son!?"

"Ahhh! Let go!"

The king let go and apologized.

"Your son was abducted by the infamous Dark Mario of the Cult of Incognito."

"Yes. We've heard about him. So that was who that evil-looking man was."

"He's needed to open a gate from Star Road to reach the Wishing Star, along with six other victims."

"The Wishing Star is just legend. The Star Rod is what truly grants wishes. But the Star Rod only grants good wishes. I don't see why my good son has to be used. That's just not like the stars."

Hey-Ho never realized that and paused. Let me handle this. I think you should know this too. Slasher took over control. The voice stayed the same though.

"That's where it's different. The Wishing Star is extremely ancient. It was created by five stars. However, one of them was corrupt. He soon betrayed all the others and made up his own rules. One of them was to sacrifice seven people. The Wishing Star could grant any wish—good or bad. Eventually, the other stars found out about him. He was punished and sent down to the ground. For years, the corrupt star laid dormant. Recently, about 10 years ago, the star possessed a victim who found him lying in the dirt. Thus began the start of the Cult of Incognito."

The king stayed quiet.

"We need your army to help defeat the CoI."

"What!? No way… They have a huge army. Our army is nothing compared to theirs… NOTHING!"

"General Guy has a rather big army ready to attack them. If both of your armies attack at the same time, they might be pushed back."

"That's considerable. But we'll still lose by a bit."

"What if I told you I'd raid the citadel itself, and free all the prisoners… including Luigi!"

"That's a huge risk. But… what do we have to lose? All right. I'll do it. Only under one condition: You prove your worth by fixing this little problem we have in the kingdom. You see, there are four weird Nimbus kids that are a gang threatening the younger Nimbus kids. It's really disturbing, and if you say you're as good as you are, then you'll stop them."

"Alright, I'll do that."

Hey-Ho left the castle. The guards sneered at him.

It didn't take Hey-Ho long to spot the four troublemakers. They each had different colored pants and "hair." One was red, and the others were yellow, green, and black. The red one was holding a chest, which Hey-Ho easily guessed, was carrying something important. They were running, laughing, and kicking anyone in their way. Finally Hey-Ho jumped in and said, "Stop it…!"

_I hate gangs._

The red one, who was the leader said, "Well, you, a little wimpy Shy Guy, wants to stop us? No way! We have our own business here!"

The others nodded in approval.

He continued, "And as long as we're here, this place belongs to us!"

The others nodded in approval.

"What's in the box?" asked Hey-Ho.

The red Nimbus got mad and said, "What's it to you!? Do you think you own us? _We own YOU!_" The others were jumping up and down. The red Nimbus placed the chest down on the ground. "You want it? Come and get it."

The four of them made a line, ready to beat up the wimp Shy Guy. Hey-Ho popped out his copter and took out his knife. He looked at them menacingly. Surprisingly, they weren't afraid. Instead they jumped forward and attacked Hey-Ho. The black one grabbed his copter and kept it still. The green one grabbed Hey-Ho's hand that was holding the knife. The red one and the yellow one started pounding on Hey-Ho with their marshmallow-like fists. They barely even ticked Hey-Ho.

Pitiful. Show them the true art of fighting.

Hey-Ho started spinning his copter. The black one spun on it then flew off. Then Hey-Ho punched at thin air. The green one lost his grip and landed next to the black one. With ease, he flipped over the other two. The yellow one screamed, "Ahh! Regroup!"

They all grouped together tightly, ready to attack again. Hey-Ho ran forward, and delivered his strongest kick, whacking all of them. All of them flew back, and then a puff of dust appeared from all of them.

Four Ninjakoopas were lying on the ground. They all jumped back up. Red yelled, "That was a cheap shot! Those bodies stunk! You'll never defeat the Koopa Bros.!"

Black chimed in, "We're too cool for you!"

Yellow yelled, "The CoI has everything you don't have!"

"We'll get you! Until we meet again! Loser!" said Green, sorely.

The Koopa Bros. ran off.

Well, that wasn't hard, was it? Hey look! They left their chest!

"I wonder what it is." Hey-Ho walked over and opened it. There were some diagrams. It looked like a robot with two hammers. "Looks like design specs."

CoI material, no doubt. All right, our job is done. Let's see the king.

Hey-Ho returned to the king. The guards didn't sneer at him on the way. He explained everything to the king.

"Koopa Bros.!? I didn't think they'd come this far… Especially being employed by the cult… Okay, that's even more reason to attack. I'll send my rag tag army to help. Don't expect much, but it's the least we can do."

"Thank you so much, your highness," said Hey-Ho.

Hey-Ho headed back to Toad Town as the king rallied up his forces.

Wario sat down in his castle—somewhat wrecked by Dark Mario—as he read the newspaper, which was now controlled by the CoI. Everything was. He looked at their most precious section: the list of all the CoI prisoners.

"Newly captured – Kolorado… Newly captured – Herringway…" He quickly scanned down the list and read, "Bombette, Watt, Waluigi, Lui… WALUIGI! MUMAMIA!" Wario was quickly enraged. He got his newly made Vampire Fangs that would let him turn into Vampire Wario and Jet Cap, and went straight for the citadel.

The Koopa Bros. ran back and started whining to Dr. Schizo. "I'm sorry! We lost the plans! We were so weak back then! We should've been Koopas! We promise you, it'll never happen again!"

"Well, you sound desperate. I knew I couldn't trust you with it, so I asked for a copy to be made. A Bandit delivered it to me."

The Koopa Bros' mouths dropped. "A BANDIT!?" roared Green. They're Koopa Bros. pride was shot down by a weak little Bandit.

"Is that a problem?" said Dark Mario, who just joined in the conversation.

If there was anything the Koopa Bros. feared, it was that crazy Dark Mario. Red spoke up and said, "No, sir. We'll be going now…" The Koopa Bros. ran off.

**Scene 3, Chapter 15 – Citadel Siege**

** **

Hey-Ho emerged from the tunnels back into Toad Town. The town was relatively quiet compared to last night. Shy Guys were running all over town, bringing weapons to Shy Guys, Toads, and Boos. General Guy was sitting down next to Russ T. creating the plans for the takeover of the citadel. Hey-Ho walked up to General Guy and said, "All right. The Nimbus Kingdom is starting to attack."

"Good job, sir! We have our brilliant military strategy devised. Koopa Village, Bob-omb Fortress and Goomba Village were liberated. But, ha, Goomba Village didn't have any Goombas. There was only a few CoI Guys. The Koopas and Bob-ombs should come soon to help us." General Guy jumped and ran to the center of Toad Town. He grabbed a mike and screamed, "Okay! Now's the time to attack! Men, rally up our forces!" Everyone cheered, and the Toad and Shy Guy infantry marched up to the front. Pyro Guys, Spy Guys, Shy Stacks, and Stilt Guys formed the second wave. Sky Guys, Fly Guys, and Boos covered the air. Eleven tanks—similar to the model that General Guy used when he fought Mario—rolled up from the rear. The center one was the largest and strongest; it was obviously General Guy's. Boos covered the sides. Finally, some Shy Guys and Toads stayed back in town while the small, but powerful army rolled out.

Two Toads opened the exit that led straight to the citadel. Some CoI Guys were wandering around until they saw a huge, intimidating army. They ran off crying.

Dr. Schizo stood on top of a podium at the center of the citadel. All of his cultists and minions were gathered all around. Their size was almost about six times as large as General Guy's army. Dr. Schizo announced, "My brothers! Come forth and listen! As I promised earlier, the time for us to be the perfect people will come soon! However! We must fight a crisis! It shouldn't be a problem, since you are all the ultimate people fit for living! General Guy has sent an army to attack the citadel! It's very small, and you should have no problems finishing them. Once that happens, the world will be ours!"

The crowd cheered loudly. The mad doctor continued, "So! Cult of Incognito! My brothers, CHARGE!" Everybody screamed loudly and rushed to defend the citadel. Spear Guys rushed to Torch's Tower ready to fire spears down at the army. Sky Guys, Fly Guys, Beezos, and Snufits raided the air. Some Mask Koopas headed to the defenses and commandeered the cannons. Some cultists stayed inside the citadel. Others went out to greet the army.

Torch and Cicle came out of the clinic as brand as new—even better. Dr. Schizo said, "Torch and Cicle, guard the inside of the citadel."

"Right!"

"Here they come," said Hey-Ho.

"We'll make a charge for the entrance," said General Guy.

The infantry armed their slingshots, and the war began. Spear Guys attacked from above as Sky Guy and the tanks' flash attacks knocked many out. Boos, including Bow, distracted and beat up many of the aerial attackers.

While everyone was distracted, Hey-Ho took his platoon of four Spy Guys and snuck into Torch's Tower. The war became muffled, and Hey-Ho debriefed his men on the mission. "Okay. Some of you may not make it, but this is for a better cause. We must release the prisoners. Once we do, we can have a chance of winning this war. It may look like we're winning, but there are too many cultists. Follow me quietly.

They quickly sped through the tower. There were barely any guards since they were all fighting. After a quick period of time, they transferred from Torch's Tower into the CoI Citadel. "The prison should be in the far back," whispered Hey-Ho. The Spy Guys nodded. Speeding down the halls, they ran down the citadel halls.

As they passed one room, Hey-Ho saw Dark Mario sitting inside the room, meditating. Dark Mario suddenly opened his eyes and turned his head. Hey-Ho disappeared. "That was a close one, sir," piped up a Spy Guy.

Out of nowhere, a ragtag army of Nimbus soldiers attacked from Cicle's Tower's side. They progressed to the main gate of the citadel and ambushed many cultists who were concentrating on General Guy. Soon, the cultists divided up their forces, which made it even easier for General Guy.

Some fighters came from behind General Guy and marched between the Nimbus army and the Toad Town army. It was the Koopa Troopas and Bob-ombs! "Sorry we're late," said the commander Koopa to General Guy.

"Glad you can make it, sir. We're closing in on them now! But there's still too many. We have to hold out as long as we can or else we're all doomed!"

Fly Guys and Snufits were shot down and piled up in front of the allied armies.

Two Mace Guys guarded the entrance to the prison. The four Spy Guys inflicted two bullets of damage on each Mace Guy. Hey-Ho ran in and pounded each of them. Hey-Ho and the Spy Guys ran into the prison.

The prison was huge, and it was not a nice sight either. Each person had his own cell. To the left, Hey-Ho saw the old and senile Kamek. To the right was Kolorado who was pacing around in his cell. Among the prisoners were Princess Peach, Waluigi, Bombette, Goombario, Watt, Lakilester, Parakarry, Moustafa, Herringway, the Shiver City mayor, the Dojo Master and his students, the Koopa Kids, and Luigi. Hey-Ho shouted, "All right! I'm freeing all of you! Even you eight…" He pointed to Kamek and the Koopa Kids.

"Not so fast!" called a familiar voice from behind.

**Scene 3, Chapter 16 – Attack of the Koopa Bros.**

Hey-Ho turned around. It was those blasted Koopa Bros. again!

"You'll not get away with defeating us this time!" barked Red.

"Nimbuses are wimps!" yelled Green.

"You caught us off guard!" hollered Yellow.

"Now fear the true power and coolness of the Koopa Bros.!" screamed Black.

Without warning, the Koopa Bros. jumped onto each other and rushed Hey-Ho. He flew onto the ground, slightly hurt. The Spy Guys pulled out their hammers and started to attack, but the Koopa Bros. separated and charged them with their shells. Hurt and defeated, the Spy Guys wussed out and ran out of the prison.

Hey-Ho was alone—outnumbered. As the Koopa Bros. were separated, Hey-Ho ran in and kicked Yellow as hard as possible. He flinched in pain from the attack; the Koopa Bros. restacked again for another attack. Hey-Ho stomped on them, but it wasn't enough to knock them over. "Hahaha! You have no chance to win! Prepare to lose, and the cult will take over!" laughed Red. They spun and charged Hey-Ho again, injuring him even more.

We can't take this anymore… complained Slasher.

_Hold on. I know we can do it… Somehow…_

Hey-Ho got up slowly. The Koopa Bros. regrouped again for another attack. As they started to spin again for another attack, they got blasted by a powerful attack.

Geno stood there and said, "Need help?"

"We need all the help we can get. Thank you!"

The Koopa Bros. separated, and laid sprawled on the floor. Hey-Ho stomped Yellow, which knocked the poor Koopa Brother out of commission. Geno fired a shot at Green. Green flinched, and the Koopa Bros. regrouped again. Spinning, they charged and knocked Hey-Ho and Geno down at the same time.

Oof! That hurt! At least it wasn't as strong as before… I don't think we can take any more of this, Hey-Ho…

Geno fired another beam at the Koopa Bros. They started to wobble until Hey-Ho ran in and kicked them. They toppled again. "Ugh, we can't keep falling over like this!" moaned Red, who was sprawled on the floor.

Hey-Ho ran to Green and stomped on him. Green got knocked out cold like White. Geno, who was losing energy, started punching Black wildly until he got up again. "You knocked out Green! You'll pay for that!" yelled Black. Red and Black hid themselves in their shells and whacked Hey-Ho and Geno respectively. Red quickly jumped on Black to get ready for another attack.

Groggily, Hey-Ho got up. His whole body swayed back and forth. "This is so painful. I don't know if I can go on."

There's only two more. Please go on, for everyone's sakes!

"Koopa Bros… You're going… down!" gasped Hey-Ho. He pulled out his knife and charged. Red and Black freaked out and separated. As Black ran away, Hey-Ho kicked him into Geno, who blasted him with another Geno Beam. Black went unconscious.

Red gasped. "Two to one? That's no fair!"

"Neither was four to one," Hey-Ho retorted.

"Fine! Be that way! I'll finish you now!" He went in his shell and charged at Hey-Ho. Hey-Ho jumped and pounded Red. He flipped over in pain. Again and again, Hey-Ho pounced until Red went out.

I knew you could do it, laughed Slasher.

"Good job," said Geno.

"You didn't do bad yourself."

Hey-Ho and Geno began to rescue the prisoners as the allied forces started to break down the walls around the main citadel gate.

Peach approached Hey-Ho and said, "Thank you, Shy Guy. Thank you Geno too. My only gift for you would be healing you. I'm sorry I can't do anything else. My whole kingdom is in debt to you." She put her hands together and healed the two heroes.

"Aw, it's no problem." Hey-Ho grinned.

"Just be glad I'm not going to hurt you," said Kamek. He coughed, wheezed, and went to help in the battle."

The Koopa Kids ran off to follow him.

Hey-Ho looked at Luigi and said, "I think you should help in the battle."

"Right away!" Luigi bounded off to help the battle that was now turned to the allies' favor. Bombette, Watt, Parakarry, Goombario, Kooper, and Lakilester thanked Hey-Ho and went off to fight. The other prisoners except Waluigi and Peach left to return to their homelands.

"Mumamia! What a weird month this has been! I've been frozen, and then I've been taken to this awful place! And now I'm free! Wahoo!" Waluigi did a little dance and left—in the wrong way!

"Wait!" said Hey-Ho. Waluigi was too happy and blissful that he was unaware of Hey-Ho's warnings.

"Let him be," said Peach. "For now, let me help the brave soldiers who are fighting in this war. It's about time we actually did something." Peach left the prison as well. Hey-Ho and Geno were alone.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Wario bursted into the prison. "Where's Waluigi!?" he demanded.

"He went the wrong way… Who knows what lies ahead for him."

"How could you let him!? He's my younger brother, you know. I'm going after him!" Wario ran the way Waluigi went.

"They could be in trouble. As much as I hate to say it, we have to follow them," said Geno.

Anti Guy carried his sack of newly made lemon candy after somewhat thanking Tayce T. After all, Tayce T. was so nice to make Anti Guy some lemon candy. Gourmet Guy was also kind enough to help Tayce T. cook any food she wanted too. After all, he'd just make some extra for himself.

Toad Town was slightly empty. Some Shy Guys were running around, guarding the place. Other Shy Guys were running out of town to help their comrades. The world couldn't go on like this—at least Toad Town. It was survival of the fittest… and the cult was threatening Anti Guy's survival. He marched through town carrying his sack of lemon candy. The Shy Guys that were running around paused, looked at Anti Guy, and backed away. After all, Anti Guy was feared by Shy Guys.

**Scene 3, Chapter 17 – Pit of Despair**

Hey-Ho and Geno dashed down the hallway that lead to who knows where. They chased after Wario who chased after Waluigi.

"Wario! Don't be a fool!" cried Hey-Ho.

"Shut up! He's my brother, so he's my business!" Wario cried back.

As the hallway curved, Slasher realized that this was heading to Cicle's Tower.

Hey-Ho, we're going to Cicle's Tower. The exit should be nearby.

Soon they found themselves at the lobby of Cicle's Tower. They heard the war going on inside the citadel as the tanks busted through the walls.

Waluigi ran through the door, screaming, "I'm free! I'm free! Wahahaha!"

Wario, Hey-Ho, and Geno stood in the center of the room, staring. "Okay…" said Wario. "I think I should go too." As he started to walk out, the floor opened up and they fell down into a dark pit.

Wario fell face first into the ground. Geno landed on Wario, and Hey-Ho landed on Geno. "Ugh… What's this…?" moaned Hey-Ho. The lights flashed on. Hundreds of blue robots that had hammers for arms surrounded them.

"Hammerbots," muttered Wario.

A voice echoed through the room. "That is correct, Wario." 

"Huh? Who said that!?"

"Most of you know me as Dr. Schizo. What a weird name it is. A weird name indeed… It's totally absurd. We're not schizophrenic…"

"Get on with it," demanded Hey-Ho.

"Oh yes… I get carried away. Nice to meet you again Hey-Ho. On such a fine day. It seems to me that you could be the root of this. The root of this mishap… What do you say? Guilty… or innocent?"

"What will it matter?"

"Yes, yes, you do have a point. Innocent, you die. Guilty, you die. Therefore, the only reasonable thing is to activate these Hammerbots that the Koopa Bros. failed to give me the plans for… Of course, why couldn't I just think of these powerful robots? Mad Scienstein shouldn't be smarter than I of course—"

"Shut up!" yelled Hey-Ho, who was annoyed at the doctor's nonsense.

Dr. Schizo frowned. "Fine, be that way, you insolent little brat. Hammerbots, attack!" The floor from which they fell from closed up, and the Hammerbots awakened from their sleep. The only exit, which was a large door, was blocked by a couple of red Hammerbots.

The Hammerbots' eyes glowed red and started pounding their hammers. They charged forward at Hey-Ho, Geno, and Wario. Wario easily butt slammed and charged them, shattering them to pieces. Hey-Ho used his copter as defense and offense, and kicked them to pieces whenever they were down. Geno fired a huge Geno Beam, which blew up about 15 of them in a row. After minutes, the team destroyed many Hammerbots, but there were still too many.

"There's-a too many!" cried Wario. He put on his Vampire Fangs and turned into Vampire Wario. Now that he was many times stronger, he continued to beat up the Hammerbots who couldn't hurt him.

"I can't take it anymore…!" said Geno, who was quickly running out of energy.

"Neither can I! But keep going!" said Hey-Ho.

Well, things are hopeless again. I don't know why you keep getting yourselves into these situations, said Slasher.

"Will you just shut up," muttered Hey-Ho.

Whack! Whack! Geno ran away as a Hammerbot chased him. Hey-Ho jumped in and kicked the robot to pieces. "Thank you, Slasher, but this is far from over. There are too many!" More Hammerbots started to close around Hey-Ho and Geno.

One Hammerbot went up to Hey-Ho and pulled back its hammer ready to pound him really hard. As that happened, the trap door on the ceiling opened, and in came Anti Guy with his sack of lemon candy.

"Looks like you guys have another visitor," laughed Dr. Schizo. "I'll leave you to die. See you all later... Or maybe not." He laughed and walked away from the mike.

Anti Guy fell into Hey-Ho's assailant, which smashed into pieces. His sack of lemon candy landed next to him.

"Fancy meeting you here," said Hey-Ho.

"I just felt like dropping by."

"We were having a party until it got out of control."

"Is that so? Looks like you've got the hosts agitated." A Hammerbot approached Anti Guy, but he just kicked him and destroyed him without much effort. Wario ran around destroying more Hammerbots.

"What brings you here?"

"Well, I just don't like the CoI. That's all."

"Then help us smash these robots…"

"What if I don't want to?"

A Hammerbot went up to the sack of lemon candy and smashed. Anti Guy exploded with anger. "NOW I WANT TO!" Anti Guy dashed into the Hammerbot and pounded it and kicked it with everything he had, even though it was already busted. Once it was totally destroyed, Anti Guy took the remaining candies and ate them.

Hammerbots surrounded him, confused. After eating all the surviving candies, Anti Guy went into a frenzy and started busting Hammerbot after Hammerbot. Some even tried to run away.

"There's still a hundred of them," said Vampire Wario, "We're never going to kill them all!"

"If we can only get to that door!" said Geno, who was being chased by eight Hammerbots. As he said that, the red Hammerbots that were guarding the door started going crazy and ran back and forth.

The gigantic door came crashing down, smashing the two red Hammerbots and all the Hammerbots in the vicinity. The Koopa Bros. stood behind the door and they did their group pose.

"Oh no, it's the Koopa Posse," moaned Anti Guy.

"That's the Koopa Bros. to you! We want a rematch!" yelled Red.

Black looked around and said, "This place doesn't look to friendly…"

Hey-Ho, Geno, Wario, and Anti Guy saw this as their opportunity to make a break for it. They hopped over the Hammerbots' heads and landed at the exit. Wario took off his Vampire Fangs to return back to normal. Hammerbots were in hot pursuit.

"There's four of them this time!" shrieked Yellow.

"That won't stop us!" said Green.

Hey-Ho, Geno, Wario, and Anti Guy charged at the Koopa Bros.

"They're in our way!" said Geno.

"No! They're our way out!" Hey-Ho happily said.

_What're they doing!?_ Thought Red.

Wario and Anti Guy dashed through Red and Green while Hey-Ho and Geno stomped Black and Yellow. The Koopa Bros. laid sprawled on the floor as the Hammerbots chased with their whacking hammer arms.

The Koopa Bros.'s eyes opened wide as the Hammerbots came closer and closer…

"Stay back! Stay back, I say!" screamed Red.

"They've escaped again," said Dark Mario.

Dr. Schizo sat down in his chair and stroked his artificial beard. "I think we should stop them for good."

Torch and Cicle stood there staring at Dark Mario and Dr. Schizo.

"That time is now," said Dark Mario.

Dark Mario and Dr. Schizo left the headquarters to hunt down Hey-Ho and his crew. Torch and Cicle looked at each other.

"Those two won't make it," said Torch.

"Hey-Ho has ways…"

"It's scary what he can do!"

"And there's four of them!"

Torch and Cicle collapsed on the ground and moaned, "Our dreams are ruined because of that damn Shy Guy!"

**Scene 3, Chapter 18 – Showdown**

General Guy and his army were all the way into the Citadel, and the Bob-ombs were blasting down the walls with ease. Now that Luigi and many other escaped prisoners were helping them, victory was at hand.

Mask Koopas ducked in their masks and tried to ram the allied forces, but there were too many. Eventually, the cultists scattered and tried to run away.

General Guy laughed and screamed, "Victory is at hand, men! Charge! Don't let anything stop you now!"

Running down the halls to escape the escaped Hammerbots, Hey-Ho, Geno, Anti Guy, and Wario smashed through any CoI Guy who happened to be wandering around. They quickly found a stairwell and climbed back up the first floor. Quickly they made their way to the center of the citadel, where they saw General Guy in the distance.

"It's him," muttered Anti Guy.

"You're one contemptuous Shy Guy," said Hey-Ho.

"I must commend you. You're the only Shy Guy who isn't afraid of me."

"L-Look up there!" Wario pointed above them where there was a giant floating platform, with medium-sized walls, and a dome-shaped ceiling.

Suddenly, they were rising into the air. "We're being pulled into it!" screamed Hey-Ho.

"Look! It's Hey-Ho! He's with some other people!" cried a Shy Guy.

General Guy saw Hey-Ho flying in the air. "Ah, it's the brave one! Why's he floating up to that floating thing? This doesn't look good. It looks like an arena to me."

The four flew higher towards the arena. Once they got close enough, the bottom opened up and closed again when they got inside. The anti-gravity mechanism stopped and they all fell on the ground.

"Oof. Haven't we had enough falling today?" asked Hey-Ho.

The whole place lighted up, and on the far corner stood Dr. Schizo and Dark Mario.

Dr. Schizo spoke first. "Nice meeting you here. In this place we have nicely set up for you. It's quite a work of art! Quite a work of art!"

Dark Mario interrupted him and said, "You've caused enough problems. I think it's about time to finish you, you lousy pests. After all, Shy Guys are just pawns. And the pawns are almost used up."

The doctor pulled out his fireball gun, and Dark Mario put himself into a fighting stance. "You must have had a lot of luck getting through all those traps and even those stupid Koopa Bros. I must give you that. But that's all I'll ever give to you, except for death!" said Dark Mario.

Anti Guy went into his fighting stance and said, "We're not going anywhere, you freak of science!"

Dark Mario cocked his eyebrow and laughed, "Such talk from such a small wimp."

Anti Guy was furious. Without thinking, he charged at Dark Mario. Dark Mario kicked Anti Guy hard in the stomach, hurling the dark Shy Guy across the arena.

"Who else wants some?"

Hey-Ho stepped forward. "We do! You're going to pay for this!"

Hey-Ho took out his knife. Geno took out his gun. Wario took out his Vampire Fangs and turned into Vampire Wario. Anti Guy snapped back to reality and jumped on his feet.

Geno fired his gun at Dr. Schizo, but the android doctor flicked away the bullet. He charged with immense speed and kicked Geno hard between the legs. He then did a five hit combo and finished it with a karate chop to the head. Geno fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Geno!" cried Hey-Ho.

"He's mine! You're too weak to handle him!" said Vampire Wario. He floated up to Dark Mario and bit him hard.

Dr. Schizo cried in pain. "ARGH! That hurt! Why you little blood-sucking vermin!"

Hey-Ho pointed at Dark Mario. "Let's go!"

Dark Mario smiled wickedly and charged at the same speed as his maker. He thrust a punch at Hey-Ho, but Hey-Ho blocked with the knife. It slashed into his hand, causing it to bleed.

"You stupid Shy Guy! Look what you did to me!" He shot an ice ball at Hey-Ho, but Hey-Ho slashed at it, ending its life.

Yeah. That's how you do it!

Dark Mario ground his teeth and swept out his foot to kick Hey-Ho. Quickly, Hey-Ho kicked Dark Mario right between the legs. He staggered backwards and fell down. "How could this be!? I am the ultimate creation!"

Dark Mario, or Specter, quickly got up and immediately punched Hey-Ho. Hey-Ho flew back, but did a somersault to get himself back into standing position.

Dr. Schizo kicked Wario hard, knocking him off balance. Immediately, the doctor was rammed into by Anti Guy. He flew to the ground and cursed.

"Need help?" asked Anti Guy.

Wario grinned and replied, "Why not?"

Anti Guy laughed, "As long as you don't suck my blood."

Dr. Schizo quickly recovered and leaped high into the air. He mid-air flipped 360 degrees and spread out his feet, each aiming at Wario and Anti Guy. "Prepare to die!" As he landed on them, Wario and Anti Guy each grabbed one of his feet. After the doctor used up his energy for the moment, they launched him sending him flying in to the wall—head first.

Hitting the wall hard, Dr. Schizo's mushroom head fell off, revealing two brains inside a dark red dome case. He got up and put his mushroom dome back on top of his brain. Immediately, Anti Guy charged and kicked him straight up into the sky. Vampire Wario intercepted him in the air and sank his fangs right into his head. Dr. Schizo screamed with immense pain as he fell down to the ground. As he was about to land, Anti Guy kicked him hard in the face, sending him to the wall. He smashed into the wall and fell unconscious.

As Hey-Ho, Anti Guy, and Wario closed in on Dark Mario with no fear, he was found to be outnumbered. He kicked away Anti Guy, but was immediately charged by Hey-Ho.

Outraged and outnumbered, Dark Mario waved his fist at them and said, "I don't play in unfair situations! This is not the end!" He grabbed Dr. Schizo, and screamed, "As long as I have all my victims, the Wishing Star belongs to me!"

He started pulling out of pockets to find nothing. Another pocket. Nothing. Furious, he searched every part of his body. Nothing. "What's going on here…!"

Wario grabbed Geno as the three of them headed back down to the citadel, which was now fully conquered. The threat was terminated, and peace would live on for now.

As they left the arena, Dark Mario escaped as well, but screamed, "WHERE IS IT!?"

Clutching the absorption cube, Cicle and Torch happily jumped out and down in front of Shooting Star Summit.

"Hey-Ho ruined our life before, but now we'll gain it back!"

"Living in a life of luxury—I can't wait!"

"Stupid Specter didn't even notice!"

"When we rule, we rule as one." The two android snifits nodded in agreement.

**END OF SCENE 3: THE COI CITADEL******


	4. 

Outcast Mask

**_Scene 4: The Final Battle_******

** **

**Scene 4, Chapter 19 – Victory!**

When Hey-Ho came down from the arena (along with Anti Guy, Wario, and Geno), the citadel was conquered, the cultists were imprisoned, and the CoI threat was neutralized. As the cultists were being jailed in the toy box (which was now located on Shy Side, the west part of Toad Town, which was close to Goomba Village), the CoI Citadel was torn down, and Bowser's Keep and Mushroom Castle were being restored.

Back at Toad Town, everybody was ecstatic over their first victory. Peach kissed Luigi and General Guy, who went slightly hyper. Anti Guy refused to be kissed. Geno was just a doll. Wario was… Wario. Hey-Ho wandered around Toad Town.

The mushroom gang approached Hey-Ho and didn't even remember what they did to him a while ago.

"Woah, dude! You're awesome!"

"You're the hero of Toad Town!"

"Shy Guys are cool!"

Hey-Ho knew their words were just words and he glared at them. They freaked out and ran off. _Serves them right,_ muttered Hey-Ho. Slasher said nothing.

He walked down Toad Town and saw Mushroom Middle School.

_I used to go there, but I'm never going back._

What a young hero you are.

Mr. Fungusberg stood outside the school, watching Toad Town return to normal. He saw Hey-Ho. "What are you doing here, Hip-Hop? You're expelled. Shoo!"

Hey-Ho departed contemptuously, but he didn't really care. He was a hero now. No one really knew it. So, he defeated Dr. Schizo and Dark Mario. But General Guy defeated the CoI. _They seem to respect General Guy more than me_.

Well then, it's time for one final bout. Let's check out Shy Side.

As Hey-Ho reached Shy Side, he saw the Shy Guy style architecture (very precise, but childish). Shy Guy workers were hammering and working to finish up Shy Side. A shop to the right caught his eye. In big, colorful words, the store said, "War Guy's Weapons!" He entered the store and saw a Spy Guy with a bunch of items and a huge workshop. "Hello, I'm War Guy. How may I help you?"

The knife! The knife! I want it better!

Hey-Ho took out his knife that was actually his folded old copter. "Can you please upgrade this knife?"

"Sure! This is my first business in the shop, and it'd be great to help a hero Shy Guy like you!" The Spy Guy bounced off into the workshop with the knife.

_Well, let's wait a while._

General Guy walked by the store in Shy Side until he noticed Hey-Ho. He ran in the store. "Hey-Ho! What are you doing here? We're going to have a victory party soon!"

Hey-Ho was shocked. "No. That can't happen. What's a victory for when Dark Mario, Dr. Schizo, and the Thermal Bros. are still lurking around?"

"You have a point, sir. What do we do then? My Shy Guys are party happy you know…"

"Party when I get back. I have a 'final bout' to do."

"Okay. We'll be ready! Good luck to you, sir!" General Guy exited the shop and chatted with some Shy Guys.

The Spy Guy returned, holding an extremely sharp and dangerous knife with a jewel blue handle. "Here you go. This was made with special effort. If the knife somehow breaks, you can put another copter on it. Only _one_ part of the copter! Don't fold it."

"Thank you very much!" Hey-Ho thanked War Guy and took his newly upgraded knife. He exited the shop back into Shy Side.

Sleek. It's better than the one I had.

Hey-Ho walked back to the Toad side, and headed towards the castle.

There is no time! Run, Hey-Ho! Run like never before! The Wishing Star! Don't forget!

_Oh! I almost forgot! Let's GO!_

**Scene 4, Chapter 20 – Star Chase**

The race was on. Hey-Ho dashed down Toad Town and busted through the main gate. He turned right at the castle and zipped across the bridge to get to Shooting Star Summit.

"Die, you stupid Shy Guy!" A fireball was shot right near Hey-Ho.

It's Dr. Schizo and his gun. Dark Mario is with him too. Don't bother to stop. Just run!

Hey-Ho continued to run with his super-fast Shy Guy speed. The summit loomed in the distance. Dark Mario and Dr. Schizo were hot on his trail.

As Hey-Ho got closer to Shooting Star Summit, he saw the bushes nearby rattle. The Koopa Bros. jumped out and got in a battle position. "You're not going past here, Hey-Ho!" said Red.

He didn't care. Hey-Ho just smashed past them like they weren't even there. They fell like bowling balls. "I think he did…" groaned Yellow.

Not long after, Dark Mario and Dr. Schizo came running up. They ran over Green and Black without even caring.

"This is just uncool," muttered Red.

As Dark Mario and Dr. Schizo ran up Shooting Star Summit, Dr. Schizo said, "I'm pretty sure it's Torch and Cicle! Treachery is written all over them! How could I make such a bad mistake? Such a bad error? I'm a genius! This is totally unnecessary! Just one screw up. Look where I am!"

Dark Mario ignored his creator. He ran faster to catch up to Hey-Ho.

Hey-Ho finally reached the foot of the summit. He began to climb rapidly. Dark Mario followed with Dr. Schizo following from behind. He scaled the mountain and saw Torch banging the absorption cube on the ground trying to get it to work. "Work, damnit!" he yelled. Cicle stood there watching. Immediately, he saw Hey-Ho intrude on their newest breakthrough.

Cicle yelled, "Go away! This victory is ours now! Let's make this even. You have your victory, and we have ours!"

"That deal is unacceptable for my terms," sneered Hey-Ho. Dark Mario quickly caught up and zoomed past Hey-Ho.

"Out of my way, Shy Guy! These traitors are mine to deal with!"

The Thermal Bros. gasped. It was Dark Mario! "No, your greatness! We just brought the absorption cube here for your convenience!" said Cicle.

"Liar," Dark Mario sneered. "Give it to me now!"

Torch held on to it tightly. Dark Mario lunged forward and yanked it out of his hands. "Do it, doctor," he said.

The Thermal Bros. stood there hopelessly. Their ambitions and dreams have been stolen once again. Dr. Schizo walked to the center of the summit and pulled out a weird looking device. Hey-Ho charged and attacked, but Dr. Schizo swatted him away. He placed the device on the ground and turned it on. The thing started to whirr and buzz. Suddenly, it blew up. The summit began to shake and a beam shot up to the sky. That beam was a teleport to Star Way.

Dark Mario jumped in the teleport followed by Dr. Schizo. Hey-Ho jumped on Torch's head and landed in the teleport. As Hey-Ho disappeared, the Thermal Bros. ran into the teleport to be teleported to Star Way.

As Hey-Ho materialized high in space, he saw a star road laid out in front of him. It twisted and spiraled higher and higher. Dark Mario and Dr. Schizo were already head of him. He ran and chased after them, but made sure not to fall off. Dr. Schizo fired a few fireballs at Hey-Ho, but they missed.

The Thermal Bros. chased after Hey-Ho. They fired their elemental balls, but that slowed them down after awhile, so they stopped shooting. After what seemed like an eternity of running, the five of them finally reached Star Haven. The Star Kids there saw Dark Mario and Dr. Schizo and shrieked, "What are _they_ doing here!?"

Dark Mario walked up to a frightened Star Kid and punched him in the face. The Star Kid ran away crying. "Shy Guy, come here," ordered Dark Mario.

Hey-Ho backed up. Huh? Wha? What's going on?

Dark Mario quickly ran over and seized Hey-Ho. He then turned him upside-down. "Activate your blades, _now!_" he ordered again.

"What if I don't want to?"

Dark Mario started furiously shaking Hey-Ho until he couldn't take it anymore. He popped out his copter and started spinning it. The ground beneath their feet started to blow away slowly. Dust spread out in all directions.

"Faster! Faster!"

Hey-Ho spun faster… and faster. The ground beneath them cleared away. After awhile, seven small platforms were visible on the ground.

"Excellent!" Dark Mario tossed Hey-Ho into the wall. He recoiled from the impact, but was still okay.

As he pulled his absorption cube out, Dark Mario grinned a wicked grin of triumph. He gripped it, and the six captured victims came out and landed on the platforms. Croco and Mario woke up. "What is-a going on here?" asked Mario.

Croco looked around. "Ah! It's that evil freak!" Lemme go! He quickly ran away and down Star Way.

Dr. Schizo yelled, "How could you, Specter!? That's only six victims! And you let one get away! That's _five_ now! You bumbling idiot!"

Dark Mario smiled. He lunged forward and grabbed Dr. Schizo. The doctor was helpless. "This was all part of my plan."

"You traitor! All my creations are traitors! I can't believe this!"

"No. Only you are. Now come here." Dark Mario threw the doctors onto a platform. "Don't forget. Both of you are two." Star Haven began to shake. The huge structure that had all the shops, and Star houses began to tremble. The houses collapsed and the structure began to rise. As it rose to its whole height, an entrance was revealed at the front. It was actually a portal that led to the Wishing Star's domain.

Dark Mario ran in and screamed, "Hahaha! See you all, suckers! This whole world belongs to me now!" As he went inside the portal, he dematerialized.

Hey-Ho, who was very close to the entrance, dived in.

Oh boy! Here we go!

Mario woke up from his sleep. He saw the entrance to the Wishing Star. He had to be a hero, and that time was now. He jumped in. Dr. Schizo followed suit. As the chosen victims left their platforms, the huge structure began to sink. Torch and Cicle jumped in as the entrance went underground.

Hey-Ho looked around. Dark Mario and no one else were in sight. Only two strangers standing next to him… To the right was a teal Shy Guy with green feet. To the left was a Bandit. He was white with a golden mask strap, black stripes, and blue feet.

His titanium copter fell off and hit the ground with a "thunk!"

**Scene 4, Chapter 21 – The Way to the Wishing Star**

The eight people found themselves in a surreal world which was known as the Way to the Wishing Star. They were scattered all about. Dark Mario was all by himself at one location. Dr. Schizo, Mario, and the Thermal Bros were also separated. Hey-Ho and his companions were also at another location. The sky was golden, and it seemed like a dream.

Hey-Ho looked around. "Who are you?" he asked.

The teal Shy Guy laughed. "Don't you recognize me, Hey-Ho? I'm Slasher. This is not my body, however. My body is actually yours. I remember that when you come here, some small, if any wishes of yours are granted. Mine was to be back to normal again. Here I am. Flaws happen and I'm not myself. Well, I don't really have much use for you now that I have my own body." Slasher laughed again. He was still an android.

Hey-Ho was annoyed at Slasher. He was somehow using him from the start. That didn't matter now. "I guess that explains it. I'm not an android anymore." He picked up the titanium blades. Taking off the blade from his knife, he replaced it with a much stronger titanium blade. He smiled at his reflection. He also saw the Bandit behind him. "Who are you?"

The Bandit was looking at himself. "I'm alive again… Oh please excuse me. I'm just happy. Well, I actually get to meet both of you again, Slasher! Don't know who I am? I'm Gene Myco. It looks like I followed you as a ghost. My spirit went into your body. I gave that final push in Cicle's Tower. When the portal to the Way to the Wishing Star was opened, my spirit entered along with yours. It's a freak accident that I turn out to be a Bandit. It's quite cool actually! I don't mind being a Bandit. It's better than being a boring old Toad."

"That's amazing. Amazing things can happen here!" said Hey-Ho.

"This is quite fascinating. Very fascinating. It is a wonder—a miracle—how this place was built. Simply fascinating…" said Dr. Schizo walking down a golden path. He found himself facing a chasm in the path. "This should be no bother. No bother at all…"

He leaped across the chasm with his android strength.

Mario found himself at the bottom of a huge pit. A bunch of small blocks were scattered in the air. He figured he had to jump to each one to get to the top. If he fell or missed, it wouldn't be good…

He proceeded and jumped on the lowest block.

Dark Mario looked around. He was stranded on an island, but he could see land across a long strip of water. He lifted off with his P-Wing ability and took flight.

The Thermal Bros also were also stuck on an island. However, they were suspended high in the air. A suspended path of water linked them to the mainland. "Watch and observe, brother," said Cicle. He charged up a huge ice ball and shot it at the water. The water froze, forming an ice path across.

"Excellent job," said Torch.

Hey-Ho, Slasher, and Gene were in a little cave where the only way across was a large pool of water. "I can't get over there…" muttered Hey-Ho.

"However, I can!" Slasher popped out his own copter and flew across. "See ya later!"

"Slasher! Damn you! Come back here!" yelled Hey-Ho.

"Forget it. He doesn't really care. Let's just figure out how to get across," said Gene.

"Hmmm…" muttered Hey-Ho. He took out his strong knife and his other knife, which was a folded up copter. "We can use these to climb across."

"Great idea!"

Hey-Ho backed up, and then made a huge leap across. Gene grabbed on to Hey-Ho has hard as he could. As Hey-Ho was about to land in the water, he dug his knives into the cave wall. He ripped out the right-hand knife, and stabbed it in to the wall to his left. He was now facing the opposite direction. Taking out his left-hand knife, he stabbed it beyond the right-hand knife. He continued doing this to get to the other side.

Eventually, Dark Mario, Dr. Schizo, Torch and Cicle, and Slasher reached the mainland. Covering most of the area on the mainland was a huge gold building. Walking inside (from different entrances), they found they were in a maze. Hammerbots roamed the corridors. Hey-Ho was almost out of the cave as a huge voice boomed, "He who makes it to the center of the maze shall be the first to receive their wishes granted."

Dark Mario grinned and made a right at the first fork. The others made their own decisions and wandered through the maze.

After awhile, Hey-Ho and Gene finally made it across. "Phew! Thanks a lot, Hey-Ho!" said Gene.

"No problem. Let's get inside that building."

They entered the building and a voice said, "He who makes it to the center of the maze shall be the first to receive their wishes granted."

"I bet everyone else is wandering around in here. Let's go!"

They ran in the maze and made a left turn (Slasher made a right). A Hammerbot quickly came into view, pounding its massive hammers.

"Stand back! I'm gonna test my new body!" said Gene. He backed up and charged forward. He grabbed on to an arm and swung around it. Using his above-average Bandit strength, he yanked the hammer loose and made it his own. He then smashed the Hammerbot to pieces and laughed. "I love being a Bandit!"

"I'm glad you feel that way. Look, I have an idea. I don't know if it's true, but I think wherever there's Hammerbots we're going on the right path."

"Good idea! Let's go!"

In a matter of time, the eight explorers were finding themselves lost and returning to previously visited areas. At one point, Hey-Ho and Gene ran into two Hammerbots at a fork. Hey-Ho ran forward and slashed one Hammerbot with his knife. Gene went and killed the other with his hammer. They could feel they were getting closer to the center.

Slasher found the trail of broken Hammerbots. "Hey-Ho…" he muttered and followed the trail.

As Hey-Ho and Gene ran aimlessly through the maze, they saw a glowing light around the corner. Dark Mario stood there smiling. He didn't see Hey-Ho and Slasher as he walked into the light. They walked in the light and also were teleported.

The Thermal Bros. came up from behind. Torch laughed, "We made it! We finally made it!" They jumped in the light.

Slasher came running and skidded out of control at the corner. He cried out, "Hey-Ho! You owe me!" He ran into the light.

Mario was still wandering around in the maze.

All seven of them found themselves in a circular dark purple platform—which was about as large as a house—floating in space. The sky above them was dark, and the Wishing Star was seen floating at the far end of the platform. Next to it was Dark Mario…

**Scene 4, Chapter 22 – The Doomsday Wish**

Specter stood in front of the Wishing Star. "I've made it here first, fools! And there's nothing you can do!"

Hey-Ho, Gene, Slasher, Dr. Schizo, Torch, and Cicle watched with horror as Specter made his doomsday wish. They couldn't do anything. He was far too powerful.

The Wishing Star spoke up. "What is your wish?"

Specter grinned and said, "I want power! _POWER!_ So much power, that in fact, no other soul in the universe can stop me! I want power like I never felt it before. I want it so I can terrorize every world and claim it as my own! That… _That_ is my wish!"

Everyone froze. Dr. Schizo said, "Specter! Surely you don't mean this! I mean I should be wishing for _me_!"

"Shut up!" Gene snapped. "Can't you see that all he does is want it for himself?"

"How dare you, you stupid Bandit!" Dr. Schizo walked forward. He immediately froze when the Wishing Star spoke.

"Your wish has been granted."

Specter grinned, and then he frowned. His body started to tremble. Hey-Ho ran forward. He didn't know what to do.

Time froze except for Hey-Ho. "What's going on here?"

The seven Star Spirits appeared around Hey-Ho. Eldstar went forward and said, "Hey-Ho. It now seems that you're our only hope. You must defeat Specter if this world is ever to continue! He's threatening the existence. We can't do much since we're powered by wishes and there are rarely any. Here, we can grant you with this one power. It will allow you to use the Star Rod's power for yourself when activated."

"But the Star Rod isn't here!"

"Time will tell… Time will tell…" The seven Star Spirits circled around Hey-Ho and cast the spell on him. They flew away and time turned back to normal.

Specter started bending forward. His body started twisting and squirming in every direction. He started to grow. One arm stayed short, while his other arm grew to be about five times as long as Hey-Ho. Some of his armor started ripping apart. "What's… happening to me!?" The pointed cap on his head popped off, revealing a crown-like thing on his head which encased a dark red orb. Inside it was his electronic brain.

He stood hunchbacked. His legs were spread apart and a metal blade bursted out of one. A larger blade bursted out of his back as well. Blood dripped everywhere, and even ran down his fingers. One of his eyes opened and grew huge and circular. It turned yellowish green and the pupil narrowed down to a slit. "Ahh! Leave me… Alone!" A slimy, disgusting unknown object came out of his shoulder and spiraled down his longer arm. His convulsions stopped and he fell down on the ground.

Hey-Ho and everyone else were scared. Dr. Schizo began to run to the Wishing Star. "I might as make my wish now while he's down!"

"Oh no you don't!" Gene ran in front to confront his "father."

Specter clutched the ground with his huge hands. He stood up awkwardly and looked at his twisted and ugly body. He was now standing to be about four times as big as Hey-Ho.

"_LOOK WHAT YOU DID TO ME!_" Screamed Specter so loud that the world could even hear. The sky in the world below began to become dark, and the smell of death and decay filled the air. "YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS, SHY GUY!"

Hey-Ho was freaked out. "So… This is evil in its purest form… You're the one to blame, Dark Mario."

"You will have to _die_ then… horribly…" Specter stomped over to Hey-Ho. His right (and short) hand glowed with evil energy as the Star Wand materialized in his hand. "I guess I'll borrow this now to even _further_ strengthen my extreme power!"

"Get out of my way!" yelled Dr. Schizo. He pulled out his gun. Gene quickly ran over and smashed the hammer at the doctor. He dodged and aimed his hand at Gene. "Don't mess with me boy… Wha? Where's my gun? My gun! Where did it go!?"

Gene held the fireball gun in his hands. "Why don't you give it up? You created too many problems for this world. And look, all four of your creations are traitors."

"Don't patronize me! I know what I'm doing!" He backed off as Gene aimed the gun at him.

Torch and Cicle ran towards the Wishing Star while everyone was fighting. Slasher jumped and tackled Cicle. "Oh no you don't! That star belongs to me!"

"You wish!" said Torch as he fired a fireball at Slasher. He dodged, ran, and kicked Torch hard.

Mario looked around the corner. He saw a glowing light. "Mumamia! I finally made it! I hope I'm the first person here!"

Specter raised the Star Wand and activated. He laughed wickedly as the Star Wand charged up. Hey-Ho felt power building up in his body. His body started to glow. The spell worked!

"Odd. I don't feel any different… Oh well, I don't need it." Specter tossed the Star Rod to the ground behind him. "You won't be reaching that anytime soon, you bothersome Shy Guy!"

With his new power, Hey-Ho jumped up and slashed Specter in the eye. He flinched backwards in minor pain. "You can't be that fast… Amazing, you used a knife on my _eye_ and it barely hurt. What a laugh!"

In the world below, everyone began to realize the horrible situation they were in. Something bad was happen. It was like Doomsday. Gourmet Guy said, "I wish for food. I wish for food. Heck, I wish for _good_ food!"

In the Nimbus Kingdom, the king muttered, "I wish my son was back…"

By that time, Chef Torte, Croco, Mallow, Jonathon Jones, and Bowser all made it back to Toad Town. They all said Mario went to Star Haven and was going to save the day. Everyone in town prayed for Mario's safety up there. Mario was going to save the world, and Dark Mario would be gone forever.

Dr. Schizo charged at Gene and kicked, but he dodged. Gene then fired the gun at the doctor, but he dodged as well. As Dr. Schizo dodged, Gene charged forward and delivered his strongest kick followed by a strong hammer slam. "It's a pity I have to do this to you… _father_."

"Gene…" muttered Dr. Myco as he passed out.

Slasher dodged two incoming fireballs. Cicle charged at him, but he dodged, only to be hit by an incoming Torch. He flew back into the ground. Cicle ran over and pounced on him. "Alright, Torch! Let's go get the Wishing Star!"

Torch nodded in agreement, and they regrouped to get to the star.

Specter slashed at Hey-Ho with his huge claws. He went hurtling back with immense pain. He saw the Star Spirits floating above him. "Am I seeing things…?"

"No, we're real again, Hey-Ho. We feel a sudden surge of power! It seems that the people in the world below are wishing for our safety. We'll give you all the power we got, but once we have hundred percent wishes accounted for, we can give you full power." They circled around Hey-Ho and a beam shone upon him. He felt strength and power like he never felt before—but he was going to use it only to defeat the monster that stood before him.

"What's happening? Why are those blasted Star Spirits here!? No matter… All the power they can give you is still insignificant compared to mine!" said Specter.

Hey-Ho charged forward and kicked him in the eye. Specter hissed. "Grrr! So, maybe you have _some_ strength, but that's nothing!" He slashed at Hey-Ho again, this time sending him in the other direction—to the Star Rod. "Oops, I shouldn't have done that. Oh well, what can you do with that wuss wand?"

Hey-Ho clutched the wand, and he gained a little more power.

Mario beamed up to the platform. "Dark Mario! You-a will be defeated this time!" He charged forward at Specter and started punching and kicking like crazy. Specter just sneered at Hey-Ho without even caring about Mario.

Cicle ran ahead of Torch. "C'mon! There's no time to lose!" Torch ran too, but Cicle was closer.

Specter immediately saw Cicle running to the Wishing Star. "You will never reach there!" he hissed. He shot a huge bolt of dark energy at Cicle. At the same time, he swatted Mario away, knocking him unconscious.

Cicle got hit by what to him felt like a truck running over his body. Pain circulated through his body. "Torch…!" He started going into convulsions…

"Cicle! Don't die now! We still have to make a wish!"

"You go on without me…" Cicle died.

"Nooooooo!" Torch wailed so loud that the world could almost here. Gene turned around and saw in shock what happened. Slasher and Dr. Schizo woke up slightly, but aching in pain.

Even though Hey-Ho hated Cicle, he cursed Specter for doing such a horrible thing.

"You don't get it, do you, Shy Guy? Shy Guys are just pawns. You can't stop me. I… _I_ am the only one who _deserves_ to live!"

Hey-Ho pointed the Star Rod at Specter. A beam of light streaked out from it. Specter countered by shooting dark energy from his hands. The two beams of good and evil collided in the air and pushed against each other, trying to overpower the other.

"Give it up, Shy Guy!"

"My name is not Shy Guy… It's Hey-Ho!"

Slasher watched as Torch bent over Cicle. He kind of felt sorry for them. After all, they were like one person. But he, Slasher, should've gotten to the Wishing Star. Who knows what wish he could've made. Money? Power? He never made up his mind up to this point.

Dr. Myco grabbed on to Gene weakly. "Gene… my son…"

"Don't try to fool me, you evil bastard!" Gene tried to yank away the hand.

"Don't let me die here, please?"

"Never! You deserve to die! You out of all people! Look at whom you created! All of you androids, Slasher, Torch, Cicle, and Specter! They're all failures! They were all created by _you_! You are about as guilty as any of them."

Torch removed himself from Cicle's corpse. Extreme sorrow filled his body and soul—or at least his android's soul. He walked slowly to the Wishing Star, ignoring Specter and Hey-Ho with their beam battle.

He was only a few feet away from the star.

Six feet.

Four feet.

Two feet.

He looked and gazed upon the Wishing Star.

"What is your wish?" asked the star.

**Scene 4, Chapter 23 – Slasher's Wish**

Torch stood facing the star. His whole body trembled…

"What… do I wish…?"

"Yes, what is your wish?"

Should he wish for world domination? Or should he not? Maybe he had better things to wish for. Torch looked at Cicle, lying dead on the ground. Again, his body trembled again.

Specter's beam began to overcome the Star Wand's power. Hey-Ho focused more energy to the Star Wand, but it still couldn't last. Quickly, the dark energy overpowered Hey-Ho and sent him hurtling backwards, more bruised than ever.

"And I wasn't even trying!" laughed Specter.

Away from the battle, Torch stood facing the Wishing Star. He muttered some words and the Wishing Star acknowledged.

Above the whole battle, the Star Spirits huddled together to discuss how to help save the world.

"We just need one more person," said Skolar.

"Who could that be?" asked Muskular.

"I think I know who it is," said Klevar. "Just give me time." Klevar closed his eyes and scanned the souls of every living person everywhere. "I was correct. The only person that doesn't have a wish is Slasher."

"Oh great. Him. Well, let's try to get that stubborn Shy Guy to make a wish," said Eldstar.

In the meantime, Cicle woke up, astounded. He was alive… but how?

Specter walked up and grabbed Hey-Ho. He started choking him. "Now you die, Shy Guy!"

"Wait… Explain something. How did those six victims survive?" asked Hey-Ho, trying to stall for time. Yet it was still something that puzzled him.

Specter grinned. "It was all ingenious. First, I captured Croco because I knew he'd run away. Dr. Schizo was a two-in-one deal. Chef Torte was truly invaluable. He was a cook, therefore he could provide food for the other victims, keeping them alive. He's the descendent of one of the first victims. Mario and Prince Mallow were both good-hearted, so I needed them. Bowser was bad, so he was helpful too. It's all about pre-planning…"

"Go on," said Hey-Ho.

Specter continued to ramble on about his victory.

The Star Spirits descended to Slasher, who was watching the whole scene.

"Slasher, do you have a wish to make?" asked Eldstar.

"No."

"Why don't you, Slasher? Hey-Ho is in trouble."

"What would a wish do? What can _I_ do? I'm insignificant."

"A wish is everything, Slasher."

"Ha! You Stars are so idealistic and foolish! Do you think that a stupid little wish can come true? It can't even make a difference!" Slasher sneered at them with disdain.

"Listen, you stuck-up Shy Guy! The world is in_ danger_! Hey-Ho is in _danger_! And _you're_ the only one who can help! You better make a wish or you'll never have anything good happen to you _again_!"

Slasher ran in front of the Star Spirits and threw his hands up. "Okay! Fine! I'll make a stupid wish! I wish that you'll leave me alone and this whole thing will be over!"

Eldstar smiled. "Thank you, Slasher."

"Now that you've heard my story, it's time to finish you!" Specter began to crush Hey-Ho.

The Star Spirits floated above Hey-Ho. "The wishes are complete. We have one hundred percent wishes from the world. Our power's gotten to the strongest potential!" said Klevar.

Eldstar said, "Hey-Ho, we will now give you our final dose of energy. We wish that you defeat Dark Mario and finish him for good!"

They circled Hey-Ho and a beam of light came down on him.

_Yes! I can feel the power!_

__Hey-Ho began to glow even more. He pushed Specter away, and grabbed the Star Rod again. He aimed it at Specter.

"Okay! Now to _charge the Star Rod to full power_!" Hey-Ho squeezed the Star Rod harder, and the beam intensified to unimaginable power. The light beam pushed forward and repelled Specter's evilness.

"What's going on!?" said Specter. "I'm supposed to be invincible!" He sent more dark energy coming out of his hands.

Torch and Cicle stood together as they watched the battle progress. It would determine if they lived or not. Gene continued to try to walk while Dr. Schizo dragged, holding to his feet. "Don't leave me here, Gene…"

Slasher walked up to the battle and put his hands on the Star Rod. "Let me help just this one time, Hey-Ho."

Hey-Ho smiled. Slasher wasn't that bad after all. The Star Rod's power grew even more. Specter went all out and sent out his strongest energy. "This cannot be happening!"

Eventually, Specter's power began to overwhelm the Star Rod's power once again. "Don't forget, you are only pawns. You are weaklings compared to me!"

The beam of darkness and evil almost reached the Star Rod.

Torch and Cicle had no other choice but to help Hey-Ho. Torch fired his fireball, and Cicle fired his ice ball. They both hit Specter in his huge eye. It didn't phase him. Specter hissed slightly. Hey-Ho and Slasher pushed harder as Specter's beam slightly weakened.

Gene dragged Dr. Schizo with his feet as he walked towards the battle. Hey-Ho and Slasher were on the losing side. What could he do? He took out the fireball gun and aimed it at Specter.

"No, Gene, please don't. He doesn't want to hurt you. Honest…"

He slowly pulled back on the trigger. Specter's beam almost overcame Hey-Ho's and Slasher's.

"No… That's unnecessary… You don't have to do such a thing…!"

The gun fired and the weak fireball shot straight at Specter's huge eye. It barely hurt him, but it stung. Specter hissed in minor pain. "Damn you, boy!" He was distracted. The beam weakened even more.

"NOW!" said Slasher. "Charge it up with everything we've got!"

Hey-Ho and Slasher focused all their energy in to the Star Rod. The power quickly overpowered Specter's. In a matter of time, the Star energy reached Specter himself and collided into his massive and ugly body. "Might I just tell you this," said Hey-Ho. "We _may_ be pawns—but to a far greater cause!"

"Noooo! I'm supposed to be _invincible_! This is impossible! This can't be happening! Noooo—" Specter was sent hurtling backwards with pain searing all over his body. He collided into the Wishing Star.

"Ahhh! Corruption! Overloaded!" screamed the Wishing Star. Hundreds of volts of energy circulated all around Specter, inflicting massive damage with every second. His body went into mad convulsions as the electricity circulated through his body. He finally went into a seizure after he absorbed too much pain.

The Wishing Star, which was just a creation, began to sizzle. Mario woke up. He saw Specter sizzling on the Wishing Star. "I did it! I defeated Dark Mario!" said Mario triumphantly.

"The whole place is gonna blow!" screamed Gene.

The surreal world around them started to fade out. Everyone ran around frantically except for Mario, who was celebrating.

The realm exploded, sending Mario, Dr. Schizo, Torch, Cicle, Gene, Slasher, and Hey-Ho in different directions. From then on, the Wishing Star never existed.

**Scene 4, Chapter 24 – Legends**

Mario, Dr. Schizo, Torch, Cicle, Gene, Slasher, and Hey-Ho were hurled to all different points of the world. Who knows what would happen to them next. The skies cleared up, and the world returned back to normal.

Boom! Someone just fell through Merlon's roof. Merlon just came back from shopping at the grocery store when he saw his roof had a hole.

"Oh no! This is just not right!" He ran in and saw Mario lying on the ground. "Mario! It's you! What happened?"

Mario woke up and shook his head. "Ugh… Mumamia! I'm alive!"

"Indeed you are, Mario!"

Mario sat there, thinking. What happened before? It all came clear to him. He defeated Dark Mario! "I defeated Dark Mario!"

"You _what!?_"

"I defeated him! He was all big and ugly and super strong! But I beat him though!"

"Amazing! I knew you could do it, Mario!"

Mario nodded happily.

Very quickly, news spread around the Mushroom Kingdom that Mario defeated Dark Mario. Peach decided to celebrate by holding a victory party.

"What about Hey-Ho?" asked General Guy. "He said not to start until he comes back."

"Ummm…" Mario said. He tried to remember, but his thoughts came to a blank. "I'm afraid he didn't make it then."

"That's a shame," said General Guy. He put took off his cap and muttered some words in memory of Hey-Ho. Then he put his hat back on.

Wario, Waluigi, and Anti Guy stood nearby, listening.

"That's-a impossible!" said Wario. "Hey-Ho can't be stopped by Dark Mario! He just can't!"

"That was one brave Shy Guy…" said Anti Guy.

A party was held all through Toad Town. It was an extremely joyful occasion. It lasted all through night. Mr. Fungusberg got drenched with a whole gallon of paint. It was a trick played by the Mushroom Gang, missing their leader. A group of Groove Guys put on a little dancing show. The people from Shiver City, Nimbus Kingdom, and Dry Dry Outpost even came to celebrate. At midnight, the huge Cult of Incognito insignia burned in flames in the center of Toad Town. Everybody watched with tears in their eyes—tears of happiness.

A memorial service was held for Hey-Ho, the hero—the legend. He helped bring down the Cult of Incognito, but no one knew of his true heroism—the battle against Dark Mario.

General Guy, Anti Guy, Wario, Mario, Peach, and Luigi laid flowers on Hey-Ho's grave. "He was a true hero," said General Guy.

Days later, before school, Little T. and his two friends, Why Guy and Dry Guy, ran up to Mario.

"Mario! I can't believe I'm actually seeing you in person!" said Little T.

"We wanna be just like you!" said Why Guy.

Dry Guy nodded.

Mario smiled. "When you want to be a hero, just remember one thing."

"What's that?" asked Why Guy.

"My mother always said life was like pasta." Mario walked away, leaving the three kids dumbfounded.

As for Hey-Ho, heard from him, nor has anyone seen him. Slasher, Gene Myco, Dr. Schizo, Torch, and Cicle also remained mysterious.

Deep within Mt. Lavalava, a hand rose from the lava. "Our day… will come…"

High in the mountains of the Shiver Region, a hand rose from the snow. "We will… prevail…"

Anti Guy went back to Dry Dry Desert to get some lemons. He walked around the oasis to get to the tree that grew lemons. Something caught his eye in the oasis. He saw a Bandit—a white one—drifting under the water…

**END OF SCENE 4: THE FINAL BATTLE**

** **

**THE END**


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